


The Wrong Wild Card: The Lyre of Inaba

by SamBan



Category: Persona 3, Persona 4, Persona Series
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Character Swap, Cannon-Typical Themes of Suicide, Drama, For Want of a Nail, Hurt/Comfort, I guess at this point Romance should be a tag, Multi, Murder Mystery, Not all relationships are in the story anymore, Not all relationships are in the story yet, Plot Armor is a Myth, Tragedy/Comedy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-16
Updated: 2021-02-28
Packaged: 2021-03-03 23:27:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 17
Words: 63,799
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24733906
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SamBan/pseuds/SamBan
Summary: After winning a free month at the Amagi Inn, Minato finds himself leading the Investigation Team. However, it quickly becomes obvious that he is nothing like Yu.Not only does the investigation go very differently, far more factors are at play as Minato brings his past with him.
Relationships: Amagi Yukiko/Hanamura Yosuke, Arisato Minato/Kujikawa Rise, Shirogane Naoto/Tatsumi Kanji
Comments: 147
Kudos: 151





	1. Arrival

Minato gazed at the scenery passing the train, not taking any of it in.

This Inaba place really was out in the middle of nowhere. He had lived in many places, but until now had stuck to major metropolitan areas. His social workers seemed convinced his 'dreary moods' could be remedied with some fresh air and country living. The town apparently had wonderful sunsets and was great for stargazing, two things he was told could fix up any mood. The workers were disappointed to learn he was more concerned about the less than stellar internet and found the prospect of going without a movie theatre or arcade unsettling.

Gekkoukan high had been the first choice of school, being highly prestigious and having a nearby mall. However, with his parent's life insurance beginning to run low, and after his recent test results had revealed that he could essentially waltz into any college he wanted, they had decided that it was going to be better to cut costs and invest in a serious college. 

A lucky radio call in had won him a free month at some place called the Amagi inn, and after looking into the area the social workers realized just how cheap the housing was. They had decided to keep him in the inn until they could find him a cheap place to stay, and have him attend the small school there until college. It was a bit of a hassle, but he supposed it didn't matter in the end.

The train began slowing down, and he turned down his music to catch any announcements. Seeing that it was just a generic announcement about being the end of the line, he turned his music back up and double checked he had all his things.

There wasn't much. He had a single suitcase with a couple changes of clothes, a computer he had mostly taken apart for the trip, and some school supplies. He wasn't a sentimental person, so he didn't have much use for trinkets.

Inaba station was empty, save for one sedan in the small parking lot. Endless fields seemed to extend in every direction beyond the thin line of houses, their vastness exaggerated by the perfect weather. If they had been corn fields, the backdrop would have made for a great american slasher film.

He approached the car, where an older man stepped out and after brief pleasantries introduced himself as the Inaba social worker sent to pick him up. He quietly sat in the back as with his music playing. The driver tried making small talk, but was discouraged by his short answers.

He realized calling Inaba sparsely populated was a bit of an overstatement. There would be stretches of nothing, followed by patches of average suburban houses. Some of them even seemed quite nice, even if the age was very apparent in many of them. The driver apologized and asked if he minded stopping for gas. Minato had no objections, especially after he promised it wasn’t far out of the way.

The gas station was small, a pattern he was quickly accepting as the new norm. A silver haired station attendant rushed out to meet them, which he found a little odd. They certainly didn't do that in the city. After realizing he wasn't sure what proper etiquette was in the situation, he got out with the driver to greet him.

"Taking a trip?" The boy asked with a smile. Luckily the social worker answered for him.

"Picking him up from the train station, I think we have a new resident. Also, fill it up all the way, imma run in and use the bathroom."

"Yes sir!" The silver haired boy said before turning his attention to Minato. He examined him closely before smiling. "Welcome to Inaba! Are you a high school student?"

Minato nodded, causing him to chuckle.

"Not a big talker are ya? That's fine, I'm sure you'll open up here. There isn't much to do besides get a job or hang out with friends, both of which will pull you right out of that shell." He held out a hand, his smile growing even bigger. "We're actually looking for part time work right now if you're interested. We can work around a school schedule."

Minato nodded and moved to shake his hand. To his surprise, the moment their hands touched the attendant pulled his hand back away as if he had touched a hot stove.

"S-sorry," the attendant apologized awkwardly, rubbing his hand. "I just realized that we, uh, just hired someone." He then looked in horror at the back seat of the sedan before backing away slowly and taking off in a dead sprint.

Minato cocked his head in slight confusion but didn't push the issue. People's particularities weren't his business.

The driver was much less forgiving, grumbling about having to fill his own tank. Minato found himself feeling refreshed though, maybe the country air really was doing something for him. He felt good as he took a seat in the back of the car next to a small boy.

He blinked. Where had the boy come from?

The child, dressed in what looked like a black and white striped prison jumpsuit, was grinning at him with giant blue eyes. However, there was a sense of… wrongness emanating from him. Was he perhaps another orphan getting picked up?

"It's nice to finally meet you," the boy said with a large grin. Again, the driver took no notice. "This isn't quite how I expected us to meet, but I hope you have as little a problem with that as I do. Oh, I have a present for you!"

An open folder materialized in his hand, revealing what looked like a professionally drawn contract. However, there didn’t seem to be anything making it official. No indication it could be enforced, or really any indication of what bureau or company it was from.

“It’s just the standard,” The boy explained. “That you will accept responsibility for your actions. Nothing outrageous.” Minato shrugged. He supposed there was no harm in signing something that wouldn't hold up in a court.

The boy looked like he had been given a Christmas present as he took the book back.

"Unfortunately, I have to go now," the boy said, suddenly seeming sad. "I hope we can see each other again soon."

Minato glanced at the driver, who still hadn't seemed to notice anything. Were they at the boy's stop? However, when he glanced back the boy was simply gone.

Odd.

He chose not to dwell on it. While odd, there wasn’t really anything to be done. Instead he listened to his music until reaching the destination.

The Amagi Inn was a bit of a surprise. It was probably the first three story building he had seen in the town, which combined with its old fashioned design made it seem like a landmark. He gave a quick nod to the driver, who took his leave. He wasted no time entering.

The interior of the hotel seemed to embody the best of the town. It felt like walking into a museum, with a perfectly maintained decades old traditional design that was so perfectly kept it made you feel like you walked onto a movie set. More interesting to him however was the slender girl behind the front desk.

She looked his age, placing her in high school even if he was off by a year. Her fancy pink kimono seemed natural on her, pointing towards her working here for a while despite her age. Her long black hair fell to the side as she gave a short bow.

"Welcome to the Amagi Inn, how may I help you?"

He quickly fished out some paperwork from his bag, handing it over to her surprise. She glanced skimmed over it, eyebrows furrowing.

"A free month? I'm not sure… it'll be just a second, I need to check with the owners."

He nodded, standing by patiently as she pulled out her cell phone. She quickly confirmed things with the owners, who were luckily familiar with the situation and the promotion. She quickly hung up and began going through paperwork.

“I’m sorry for the wait, can I get an ID off of you?”

He nodded, handing it over. She stopped writing as she glanced over it, but something caught her eye.

“Are you a student?” She asked in surprise.

He nodded, and she looked over the ID some more.

“From Tokyo proper,” she said in surprise, “and by age we should be in the same year. Wait, does that mean you are transferring?”

He nodded, and she smiled at him as she resumed writing.

“In that case, you’ll need someone to show you the way to school, huh?"

He nodded. And she smiled wider.

"Great, it's always interesting to hear about the city. Oh, sorry, here is your room key, you're going to be on the second floor room two seventeen. Be down here by seven ready for school! Oh, and my name is Yukiko by the way."

\---

The Entity strolled through the foggy demi-plane. While the plane certainly didn't belong to them, they knew they were expected. One such as themselves hardly needed to announce their presence. 

The brick path winded through the empty void, seeming to change around them. However, the path never strayed far from it's destination. Perhaps the owner of the plane wished to dissuade them without wanting to directly interfere with their path. It was a respectable stance if so.

Before long it ended before a grand door, which needed no prompt to open.

Without warning, a lightning bolt was rudely flying towards it from the open door. The Entity froze it in mid air without breaking stride, taking in the colossal being in front of it.

“The human mind is so fascinating,” The Entity said with a smile. “Just look at you, all cute with your own demi-plane. And so powerful too.” With a snap the frozen lightning bolt vanished. “That would have been quite uncomfortable had it hit me.”

An irresistible sense of fear resonated from the being in front of it. As pleasant as the fear was though, there was work to be done. A contract appeared in The Entity’s hand. 

“Don’t be so jumpy,” The Entity urged. “I come in peace. In fact,” it said, holding up the document, “I come with a ceasefire. With terms of course.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Still shaking out the cobwebs, first time i've posted in nearly eight years. Hopefully you still enjoyed it!
> 
> Any feedback (positive or negative) is greatly appreciated!


	2. The first day

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I plan on posting every other week, although I'm not sure which day yet. I will update you when it's finalized!

Minato found himself sitting in a chair, half asleep.

There was no reason for it. He had never sat down in the chair. Yet he was sitting in it.

"Welcome to the Velvet Room."

He seemed to snap awake, looking around the unnaturally blue room. Other than the desk and chairs in the center of the room, it lacked any furniture. It was instead decorated by free standing doorframes with bed sheets thrown over them and grandfather clocks ticking in eerily perfect unison. The entire room seemed to be an elevator, with the wall he was facing being a golden grate that showed a nearly endless amount of distance traveled. The grate had an analogue clock mounting on it, unlike the grandfather clocks moving at a rate that was constantly shifting.

Across the table sitting in a plush throne of a chair was an older well dressed man, grinning at him. It was difficult to place exactly what was most unsettling about him. The most obvious option was his long hooked nose, which had to have been nearly a foot. Other offputting irregularities that put him squarely in the uncanny valley included his slightly hunched back, elongated fingers, bloodshot eyes that never seemed to blink, and elf-like ears. Regardless, he had a certain aura about him that made Minato happy there was a table between them.

To the man’s left however, was a woman unlike he had ever seen. Her pale skin, which might have seemed an almost unhealthy color on a lesser woman, instead seemed vibrant when contrasted against her platinum hair and blue outfit. She had a feline like presence, with a grace that could only be described as supernatural, and an aura of danger that was entirely attributed to competence rather than malice. This feline like presence was only enhanced by her glowing yellow eyes that seemed to be examining his very soul.

“My name is Igor,” the old man continued, snapping attention back to him. “And I am delighted to make your acquaintance. This is Elizabeth, she is a resident here like myself.”

She gave a small curtsey that walked the thin line between playful and graceful. “Pleased to meet you,” she said.

“This place exists between dream and reality, mind and matter” he continued, “Our sudden influx of guests has been an absolute pleasure, a feeling that will only grow exponentially with your attendance."

With a wave of his hand, the folder the boy from the car had appeared on the table before him, opening up to reveal his signature.

“Only those who have signed such a contract may enter the room. Due to your signature, you will henceforth be welcome here. You have a vast sea of untapped potential, one the vastest I have ever seen. Even more so now that fate seems to have cut you loose.”

The man touched his fingertips together, and seemed to be doing everything in his power to not shake with excitement. “You will have many choices, but I must caution you. Fate is a guide as much as a shackle, and finding your own way is often much more perilous than traveling a predetermined path. Now more than ever, you must abide by the contract.”

Minato didn’t understand what he was saying, but hung on to every word regardless. He knew that this was important. He didn’t know how or why, but there wasn’t a doubt in his mind. The words seemed right, like they were facts he had known his entire life and was simply getting a reminder.

The contract disappeared again with a wave of Igor's hand.

"We will now part ways, but worry not. We shall see each other again very soon."

* * *

"So, let’s hear it" Yukiko prompted him as she clutched her umbrella. "What's it like in the city?"

Minato frowned as the rain fell between thm. He had successfully gotten her to talk for most of the way so far, about the town and her helping her parents running the inn mostly. However, it seemed like it was finally time for him to speak.

Why couldn’t people simply keep to small talk? He knew she was prying. She was trying to get her read on him. But no one really benefited from that. She would be disappointed. He would be disappointed in her disappointment. Best if things just stayed surface level.

"What do you want to know?" He asked.

She put a finger to her chin in thought. "Oh, I know, what is something you're going to have to get used to Inaba not being?" 

Well, he had to commend her subtlety.

"It's quiet and and spread out here," he said after a moment of thought. "The city is busy and everything is right there. I used to walk ten minutes to the movie theatre, but there isn’t even one here."

"Wow," Yukiko said, eyes glazing over a little. "We don't even have a movie theatre. It must be nice to be able up and do something on a whim."

He shrugged. "A lot of the time you just end up doing things because that's what you do. You don't want to go to the arcade, it's that you need to do something and there's an arcade."

She tilted her head, suddenly very present again. "I'm not following."

He tried to organize his thoughts a little better. "You can always do something. You want to be the type of person that does something. So you do do something. But there is nothing you want to do. So you are just doing… something. But everyone is doing that. So you have a bunch of bustle at all times. People just doing something for the sake of doing something."

Yukiko walked beside him silently for a moment.

“You are doing a bad job you know.”

He looked at her confused.

“You were supposed to talk up the city and make it seem fun,” she explained. “But that just sounds kind of sad.”

Ahh, that was it. He hated being a prophet.

“It wasn’t supposed to,” he admitted. “It was supposed to be what it is.”

The two stopped in front of the school.

“I’ve got to go to class now,” Yukiko said apologetically, “good luck on your first day.”

He nodded as she walked off, only to hear whispers already starting.

“Who is that?” “Was he just talking to Yukiko Amagi?!” “Is he the transfer?” “Did Yukiko get a boyfriend?!”

He put in his ear buds and began playing music, drowning them out immediately. He couldn’t care less about any of their opinions or rumors.

* * *

Yosuke was sprawled out on his desk, hoping that taking up more space would somehow relieve the dull throbbing all over his body. It turned out old tires, bad brakes, and a rainy day were a very bad combination for biking.

“Transfer kid from the city, just like you huh?”

He grunted in reply to the female voice, not looking up. Normally this wasn’t how you’d address a girl, but this was Chie. Sure, she had a pretty good figure, and a green and yellow fashion sense that stood out in a good way. But she was the type of girl to start a fight and eat shitty steak, all the while thinking crappy decade old kung fu movies were cool. No matter how much she tried to pretend, she was hardly a bastion of femininity.

“You ok?” She asked, slightly concerned. “You look kind of… Dead.”

“I don’t want to talk about it,” he grumbled, remembering how his crash had allowed him to explore the insides of a public trash can.

She looked like she was going to press the issue, but thankfully Mr. Morooka entered the classroom with the new transfer student.

The difference between them was jarring. The transfer student seemed to flow across the ground with the grace of a dancer, while the Morooka waddled around with a posture that had to be causing lasting damage. The teacher seemed to embody a short fuse, taking up as much space as he could as he moved as if daring to challenge him. The student was exuding an almost icy calm as he seemed to take up no space as he blended into the background.

As was quickly pointed out by some of the girl's whispers around the room, he was also a pretty good contrast to the teacher's buck-toothed ugliness.

"Alright, shut ya traps," he snapped as he reached the front. "Im Kinshiro Morooka, your homeroom teacher from today forward. First things first! Just 'cause it's spring doesn't mean you can swoon over each other like love-struck baboons. Long as I'm around, you students are gonna be pure as the driven snow."

He looked around the classroom, seemingly satisfied with the unhappy look on his student's faces. "Now I hate wasting my time, but I'd better introduce this transfer student. This sad sack's been thrown from the big city to the middle of nowhere like yesterday's garbage. And he's just as much of a loser here as he was there, so you girls better not get any ideas about hitting on him. Tell him your name kid and make it quick."

"Sheesh, talk about a welcome" Chie muttered.

"No kidding," he agreed. However, the transfer student seemed completely unphased. Perhaps a little too unphased.

An awkward silence stretched on for a couple seconds. The new kid's eyes were closed, and his head was gently nodding. Was… he asleep?

He finally opened his eyes, taking in the confused glanced and furious glare of Morooka with equal ease. He removed an ear bud that he had been hiding under his hair, filling the room with a fusion of rap and pop.

"Sorry, didn't notice you were done," he said smoothly. "My name is Minato Arisato. Where is my seat?"

The room was silent. Morooka was becoming more and more red, as he silently mouthed words trying to find exactly how to respond, and everyone else was in shock. Normally that would be a horrible way to start the year, but the fact he had done that to Morooka and was now starting at him unflinchingly gave the move a whole new context. 

"You have landed yourself at the top of my shit list you degenerate punk," Morooka eventually exploded, "I hope you are ready for your life to become aligning hell for the entire year!"

"M’kay."

He then looked around the silent classroom. He spotted the seat right in front of him, which if taken by him would place him between himself, Chie, and Yukiko. "I'mma sit down there if you are done," he stated, making his way to it.

"Hold it right there you wannabe thug," Morooka roared, "You tryin’ real hard to get kicked out of school on your first day aren’t ya?”

“Not really,” Minato replied evenly.

Yosuke watched all this in morbid fascination. He couldn’t tell if this kid was completely socially inept or an absolute madman.

“Sit the fuck down before I throw you out like the trash you are!”

“M’kay.”

He took the seat and casually started preparing for class. Morooka finally relented and began his normal lecture on how the class would be run, with plenty of jabs towards the students.

“That. Was. Incredible.” Chie whispered.

“I didn’t really do much of anything, he just kept winding himself up,” Minato replied.

“But you didn’t even flinch,” she said back, “We call him King Moron around here, for obvious reasons. Oh, my name is Chie Satonaka.”

Yosuke leaned back in fascination as he watched the two of them whisper back and forth. How on earth was this working for him? He totally botched his introduction speech, only to have it turn into an event the whole school would be talking about. Now he was making friends right off the bat. Even Yukiko, the most sought after girl in the school, was sneaking into their conversation now and again, and acting like they knew each other.

This was so radically different from when he had moved here. Minato had slipped seamlessly into the class, and was somehow keeping up with Chie’s movie knowledge. It wasn’t like he had a much different start either, they were both city kids who came in and started school immediately without any connections.

Did he mess up his intro? His first days were actually pretty lonely if he was being perfectly honest. Maybe he should have made a bit more of a splash? Then again, he didn’t have the same opportunity to. He didn’t come into King Moron’s class and have such a cartoony villain to stand up against. He didn’t even have to do anything to seem like he was standing up to him.

Ah, whatever. All that mattered now is it was looking like he was worming his way into his friend group. It was an opportunity, and he had a feeling this kid was going to be the epicenter of excitement this year.

* * *

Chie idly took notes with roughly half her brain, watching across the desk for Minato’s response. The new kid actually knew about Kung Fu movies! What were the odds of that actually happening?

Of course, he seemed to be a general movie buff, and was stretching his knowledge to meet her specialty topic, but he was keeping up better than anyone she’d met in Inaba. Plus, he had stood up to Morooka without batting an eye. And she had somehow landed him as a seat partner!

She stopped taking notes and watched him scribble on the side of his notebook.

_Wasn’t seven swords the movie where people were banned from practicing martial arts? I heard it did well in China but not so well overseas._

She smiled and wrote back on her own paper.

*That’s the one! And that’s how you know it’s a good one. You get all the benefits of a legit movie and a horrible adaptation!*

She glanced back and noticed he was taking notes on class again. His hand seeming to glide across the page as he caught up on lost notes effortlessly. She gulped a little and tried to catch up. She couldn’t afford to look bad on day one!

She sighed in relief once she felt caught up, and glanced at his page to see his newest message.

_Can you give another example of one like that?_

Clearly he didn’t know who he was talking to.

_Trials of the dragon. Straight 5/5, so much goodness, so much cringe, basically everything you could possibly want in a movie._

He was no longer catching up, if anything he seemed ahead of the lecture as he wrote his response. How on earth…

_I haven’t heard of it. I’ll have to watch it at some point._

She mentally fist pumped. It had taken her three months to get Yosuke to watch that! Actually, now that she thought about it, didn’t he still have it?

She ripped off a piece of paper, and quickly jotted down _You still have my trials of the dragon right? Can I have it back?_ before holding it behind her for him. She then tried to catch up on notes again, quickly growing annoyed at Minato lazily keeping pace and Yukiko seemingly turning her notes into a full on coloring book with all the highlights. How were people like them so good at school and stuff? She was having trouble and it wasn’t even a real lecture yet.

She heard a slight rip as Minato tore a note off his page. She felt a welling of excitement before her stomach plunged as he handed it up to Yukiko. She took it in surprise, but wasted no time in passing it back with a quick glance at the message and a couple scribbles. He took it back before folding it and slipping it into his pocket but not before she caught what looked like numbers.

Wow. Ok then, just do that right in front of her.

She sighed. It was honestly inevitable, and it wasn’t like she blamed either of them. Minato seemed like a really cool guy, way too cool for Inaba. And Yukiko was by far the most beautiful girl she’d ever seen, every guy wanted her.

No, this was looking like business as usual.

She ripped another scrap of paper off.

 _You can actually keep it a little longer, I don’t need it back immediately._ She bit her lip a little as she passed that back to Yosuke.

* * *

_What room number was I in again? Just in case I don’t talk to you until I get home_

Yukiko blinked for a second. That was a totally reasonable question, if a bit irresponsible. At first she had expected him to ask for her number or something.

_217, but you could have just asked the front desk_

It was extremely odd though. A transfer student living alone in her hotel was something she was not used to, and the dynamic was honestly kind of stressful. Resident confidentiality was normally pretty clear cut, but this blurred the lines so much she wasn’t even sure if there was a line.

The whole point of the confidentiality was to keep their histories safe. However, she was his peer, the exact type of person the history should be kept safe from. Should she know he was living alone in a hotel? Was it safe to ask questions about his past? If people saw the two of them walking to the hotel together without context, it could turn into a full on scandal. She had already walked him to school, and wasn’t sure how many rumors were going to come from that.

Luckily, he was getting along really well with Chie. Chie was such a cheery person, and he was such a downer it would probably be good for him to make friends with her. However, that was another layer of awkwardness. She didn’t know if she should tell Chie he was staying at the hotel. She had been listening in on their conversations, even jumping in now and again to make it seem less like eavesdropping, but he hadn’t mentioned it yet, meaning she probably shouldn’t. They had switched to writing back and forth though, so maybe…?

Confidentiality had really been stressed to her by her parents recently, with the announcer Mayumi Yamino staying there to avoid media attention. The Amagi inn’s impeccable reputation was on the line, and one slip could destroy it.

Everything considered, including the lackluster conversation they had on the way to school, she would probably have to skip out on hanging out with him in the future. Maintaining a professional relationship with him was going to be important, and if she was reading the signs right, Chie wouldn’t want her to hang around too much.

She passed the note back, and focused on the class again. It was an extremely dull day with no meaningful lectures, making the notes so simple she was taking time to color code. She wished anything would happen to distract her from thinking about work.

Her wish seemed to be granted when the school intercom came on with the final bell.

“Attention, all teachers. Please report immediately to the Faculty Office for a brief meeting. All students must return to their classrooms and are not to leave the school until further notice.”

Rumors immediately started flying around, as they always do. They ranged from a suicide to someone stapling bread all over the school, which was a pretty good indication no one had any idea what they were saying. A fog had rolled in around the school so thick it was impossible to even see the courtyard from the classroom window, leaving the door open to a demonic lemure invasion theory that she particularly enjoyed.

Chie interrupted the rumors, stealing the now vacant chair in front of her.

“So, did you check it out yet?” She asked enthusiastically.

She blinked. “Check out what?”

“The Midnight channel. Come on, I got to know who your soul mate is.”

She shook her head. “I had work last night and didn’t want to stay up till midnight. I was too tired by the time I got home.”

“Ah, totally forgot about that,” she apologised. “Anything interesting happen at work?”

She resisted looking at Minato. “I’m not allowed to say. Confidentiality.”

Chie’s eyes lit up. “Ooh, that means it must be juicy. Did you have to kick someone out?”

She pursed her lips. “Chie, please don’t. I want to tell you, but I really can’t.”

She shrugged. “Yeah I get it. So, what do you think about all the rumors? I hope if someone is going crazy and stapling food to the walls they at least leave some out for the rest of us.” Yukiko smiled in response.

The intercom sounded, signaling another announcement.

“Attention all students. There has been an incident inside the school district. Police officers have been dispatched around the school zone. Please stay calm and contact your parents or guardians as soon as possible and quickly leave the school grounds. Do not disturb the police officers and head directly home.”

The excitement was immediate groups of students immediately took off with the intention of seeing the incident

"Should we take the transfer kid with us somewhere?" Chie asked after the excitement died down. "Its not everyday you get to talk to someone from the big city."

That was a bit odd. Normally Chie was absolutely the type to look for trouble like this.She looked back, seeing Yosuke chatting up the new kid, before they began leaving the room together. She motioned her friend to look.

"Damn it Yosuke," Chie sighed. "Stole him right from under our noses. Oh well. Wanna hang out at my place? Just the two of us are more than cool enough to have fun, and we can probably see whatever is going on outside."

* * *

"Here ya go, best steaks in Inaba!"

Minato examined the restaurant as Yosuke placed a plate in front of him from across the outside table. It was a family owned restaurant in the market district, using what seemed like crates as chairs. In the city he would have viewed the place as suspicious, but it somehow fit the rustic feel of the town. It didn’t hurt at all that the passing locals were eyeing their food with jealousy.

Yosuke had invited him out here under the pretense that he knew what it was like to be the new kid. It was a nice sentiment, and his name brand outfit and demeanor did scream city. However, he didn’t really expect this to turn into anything.

“So man, what brings you all the way out here?” Yosuke asked as he began cutting the steak.

“Cheap housing,” he responded with a shrug, taking a bite. It was actually pretty good steak.

“Cheap is one way to put it,” he agreed. “Housing market out here is an absolute steal if you can maintain a big city income. Your parents can work from home?”

“I actually moved out here alone. My parents… Aren’t in the picture.” Yosuke froze mid bite in shock, as expected. That was the most common reaction by far, and one he had long since grown accustomed to.

He knew the script. He would be treated like a porcelain doll afterwards. That interest he had would disappear and even pleasantries would become awkward.

Yosuke lowered his fork. “Sorry man, shouldn’t have pried like that.”

Minato sighed. He’d played this conversation out a million times. Might as well hurry it along.

“I was seven. Car crash.”

“I see…” He pursed his lips and looked to the side. And that was why he expected nothing of this little get together.

A silence began to stretch, but he was used to it. Instead he focused on eating his steak. He hadn’t expected a shop like this out here, he would have to note it and come back.

Yosuke suddenly snapped his fingers. “You’re staying at the Amagi inn short term until you find a place aren’t you? That’s how you knew Yukiko?”

He blinked in surprise before nodding. “That’s right.”

Yosuke leaned back with a grin. “Ahh, all this is making way more sense now. Dude that’s sick! Luxury living right from the start! We should totally hang out there if you don’t have anything else going on. How does tomorrow sound? Should give you a little time to get settled in.”

Minato was a little surprised by his enthusiasm but accepted. Every school had people wanting to latch onto the new kids, but Yosuke was surprisingly tolerable as far as they went. As they finished their meal, Yosuke’s knack for small talk became apparent. Sure, he danced around some topics, but once you got him on a topic he felt comfortable on, you could easily get him talking almost indefinitely.

It seemed this was a good connection to start the year on.

* * *

Dojima pinched the bridge of his nose as he approached the police line. This was going to be an absolute headache of a case.

Mayumi Yamano: 27. Deceased. No apparent cause of death, at least until toxicology and autopsy reports came back. That alone was enough to make the case a tough one. However, it got so much worse.

Mayumi was a high profile announcer in the middle of a political scandal. Not only that, she was found hanging from a telephone pole and found by a high school student. This was going to hit the press like a freight train, and bring the higher ups breathing down his neck faster than he could blink.

He glanced around the small crowd that had formed and did a quick survey. Among them were a mother and her son, a shopkeeper, someone carrying home groceries that was lingering too long, and a couple high school girls. A lot of bored folk looking for excitement in the wrong places.

“That damn principle,” he growled to himself, “I made it clear I didn’t want any kids caught up in this.”

“Attention,” He boomed, making the small crowd jump a little. “This is an active investigation. If any of you have any information to give I would like you to step to the side here, and get identification ready. Otherwise, we are going to need you to disperse immediately.”

They began shuffling along down the streets when, as if timed perfectly to give them a reason to stay, a detective sprinted past the crowd and began emptying his stomach. It took him a second to process his partner’s blunder.

“Adachi!” Dojima roared after him, “How long are you going to act like a goddamn rookie?! You want to be sent back to the central office?”

The crowd was looking at him in shock, but he simply moved his eyes between the crowds individuals, finally settling on a pair of high school girls. One was wearing all red and the other all green. The one in red was familiar for some reason...

“Disperse!”

You would have thought he struck them with the speed they left. He didn’t like being the bad guy, but during times like this getting these results was a lot more important than sensitivity. Confidence in your authority was just one of many tools in a detective’s toolkit, and he didn’t get to where he was by tackling problems inefficiently.

“I-I’m sorry,” Adachi stammered as he returned. Dojima sighed. He supposed he couldn’t actually help getting sick at the sight of a corpse, even if it was part of his job. He would let it slide this time.

“Go wash your face. We’re gonna be gathering some information and you need to be presentable.” 

* * *

She was walking down a dark and empty road.

She shivered. Why was that everything she knew? It didn’t make sense. Why was she walking? Where was she walking?

Why was she alone? 

She rubbed her arms in a desperate attempt at warmth. She didn’t even know her name. In fact, given how horrible everything was, she should probably be happy she at least knew she was walking on a road. If she didn’t know it was supposed to be leading somewhere she might not have followed it.

Come to think of it, she didn’t even really know if she was heading somewhere good or bad. Then again, anywhere was better than here. At least she hoped so.

She saw a figure approaching in the distance stopped. It was good that she saw someone else right? But the vulnerability she suddenly felt was beyond what she probably should. Well, she was a young girl with amnesia walking on a poorly lit country road, she probably should feel vulnerable. But it went beyond that.

She felt weak. It was hard to explain, she didn’t seem physically weak. She actually seemed in pretty good shape. Her wits were about her. She felt confident in walking another twenty miles if it came down to it, so it wasn’t exhaustion. It was just like… Something was missing.

She glanced behind her, wondering if avoiding a confrontation would be best, but to her horror saw another figure approaching behind her.

She breathed in deeply, turning back to the first one to jump in surprise. The figure wasn’t approaching anymore.

It was right in front of her.

However, the figure seemed to be hidden by the night, a silhouette despite being mere feet in front of her, save for it’s glowing red eyes.

“You must be scared Kusumi,” the figure said in a nondescript voice. “I am sorry you got lost. But we need you at home.”

Before she could react, she heard a giggle behind her. She turned to see another silhouette, this one slender and with glowing yellow eyes. This was getting old real fast.

“I was unaware it was common to coat yourself in shadows as custom here,” the figure said in a playful feminine voice. “I must admit, it took me nearly three seconds to learn how to do so. I apologize for my late arrival.”

The first figure seemed put off. “Are you one of that crazy old fool’s servants?”

“Residents,” the second corrected. “And yes, I have come to collect Marie for a very special assignment. Oh yes, Marie, we decided to call you Marie. Do you find that objectionable? I also find the name Gouvenshpignel quite appealing, but my master refused. However, if we ask him together he would more than likely accept.”

She looked between the two figures. What the actual hell was happening?

The first shook its head. “I am… unsure how to respond,” it admitted. “However, Kusumi, you must understand. You are needed to save humanity.”

She blinked. “Excuse me?”

“I am simply asking nicely that you come with me” the second said, seemingly oblivious to the fact that that was a horrible argument.

“I’m not going with either of you freaks,” she shouted, before running down the road at full speed.

The two figures stood silently, watching her leave.

“Is he really getting involved with that… thing?” The first asked the second.

“We simply observe.” The second dismissed.

“And if I were to go and chase this girl down?”

“I would observe, and take great interest in your stalking technique.”

“Despite you trying to recruit her?”

The yellow eyed one giggled. “I was simply the messenger. I am rather indifferent when it comes to her fate. I am sure I will be extending her another invitation soon however. Assuming she is still alive.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for the feedback! ^_^ I have a lot of plans for this story so it's awesome to know there is an audience willing to read it!
> 
> Also, I am kinda winging these tags, if anyone can think of some that I'm missing I'll gladly add them :)
> 
> Any feedback (positive or negative) is greatly appreciated!


	3. The Midnight Channel

Day two went by without many issues.

Minato spent much of the day idly taking down notes, more out of boredom than necessity. He and Chie exchanged notes, something that seemed to be the new norm. She seemed excited to tell him about her running into the police on the way home from school. Apparently some announcer had been murdered using some unknown method, which he did find interesting. He actually appreciated knowing someone who was tuned into gossip and rumors, although he wouldn’t admit it.

However, the moment the bell rang that changed. Chie slapped her hand firmly on his desk.

“Alright Mr. Transfer Student, you aren’t slipping away from us this time. You are going to be hanging out with me and Yukiko, got it? We’ve got questions about the big city and you’re gonna answer ‘em.”

He blinked in surprise. Well that was more forceful than necessary. He agreed regardless. She just seemed like a boisterous person, so this was most likely just going to be a part of spending time with her.

“Sorry Chie,” Yukiko apologised from in front of them. “I’ve got to help out at the inn. I can’t hang out today.”

“What!” she yelped. “Are you leaving me alone with him? I mean, don’t you want to hear some stories from him?”

He shrugged. “I could always tell her later tonight.”

For a second he thought he said something wrong because both girls’ eyes seemed to bulge out of their head.

“Um, Minato, where are you staying while in Inaba?” Yukiko asked in what seemed like desperation.

He looked at her confused. “At your inn?”

“At the inn?” Chie repeated in shock. She looked at Yukiko in betrayal. “You didn’t tell me?!”

“I told you I wanted to,” She said in what seemed like relief. “But like I said, confidentiality.”

“Oh...” Chie’s face suddenly lit up as if she had finally pieced something together. “Oh!” She looked around to the others looking at her. “Oh.” “Why don’t we all hit up the inn?” Yosuke suggested from behind them. "I was planning on swinging by anyways.”

“You probably shouldn’t,” Yukiko said. “It’s… Kind of hectic right now.”

“Oh, yeah, wasn’t that murder pretty close?” Yosuke asked.

“She was… kind of staying at it,” Yukiko admitted.

“No way,” Chie said with her eyes widening.

“Maybe the hotel is haunted now,” Minato offered with a shrug. “You could probably charge more for a room.”

“Ooh, that would be interesting,” Yukiko agreed. “Oh, Chie, what if her ghost shows up on the midnight channel?”

“Isn’t that supposed to show your soulmate or something?” Yosuke asked. “Why would she show up there?”

“Maybe the midnight channel is just sensitive to supernatural activity?” Minato offered, figuring he needed to contribute something. "Might be a medium for ghosts."

“What, like summoning demons?” Yosuke asked in disbelief. “You don’t actually believe in that stuff do you Minato?”

He shrugged in response. “Doesn't really matter. But if we are assuming the midnight channel exists why not assume ghosts as well?”

“I guess when you put it that way," Yosuke said.

“Ooh, I know,” Yukiko said with a grin. “There was just a murder, so with the midnight channel going on and enhancing supernatural powers you should use a Ouija board.”

“Yukiko!” Chie shouted. “No! Bad! We are not messing with ghosts!”

“Ahh come on Chie,” Yosuke teased. “You still believe in that stuff? Don’t tell me you’re too scared?”

“I-I’m not scared!” she huffed. “I… just don't want to scare Minato! Plus, we don't want to leave his room haunted do we? You know, if it IS real. Besides, isn't it hectic at the hotel or something?"

Minato raised an eyebrow. “Don’t try to use me as a scapegoat."

“Way to be on my side,” she mumbled. Weird. Why was he supposed to be on her side?

"If it’s going to be at midnight, I’ll probably be working until nine so I’d be able to join,” Yukiko admitted slowly.

Chie looked between them in betrayal.

"So Ouija board at the hotel at midnight, meet up at 9pm?" Yosuke confirmed. "Any objections?"

"Chie can stay at my place afterwards," Yukiko offered.

"I don't mind if Yosuke stays over if it’s too late," Minato confirmed.

"Sweet, I'll pick up some snacks," Yosuke said.

"I think I have a board still, so I can bring that." Yukiko said.

"Still? As in you've messed with it before?" Chie whined. "Well, this is what is happening now I guess, so let's make the best of it. I can bring a movie? Let's do like a detective one or something. It'll fit the mood."

Minato nodded. "Seems everything is taken care of, but I can finish unpacking and get some seating."

“Sounds good,” Yosuke said definitively, “See y’all at 9!”

* * *

Yukiko regretted the night thus far. Work was turning her into a giant ball of stress and this wasn’t helping.

Chie had brought over a detective movie she had seen several times with her. Not surprising of course, it was one of her favorite movies and it was pretty obvious she was trying to show off her movie knowledge to the transfer student. She was using that as an excuse to sit next to him and talk to him about the cinematography.

In normal circumstances, that would have been cute. However, after seeing them together a little longer, she could tell that was going to end badly for her and fast. Chie was sweet, and an incredible friend, but she hadn’t seen Minato smile at her once. Or at all for that matter. That was a massive red flag if she ever saw one.

Yukiko sighed, but covered it up with an awkward fake yawn. One of the main reasons she had primarily avoided the whole dating thing was how it all seemed so transient. People date, they break up, and are back right where they started. Nothing changed. If anything people just seemed to end up hurt in a way that damaged their next relationship. Sure, guys would catch her eye. She wasn’t blind. But none had ever kept that interest for long. 

But she wasn’t going to settle, and she hoped that Chie wouldn’t settle for some bland eye candy like the transfer student.

She wouldn’t stop her of course. Chie was free to pursue the happiness she wanted the way she wanted. And who knows, it might work out in some way that she didn’t expect. She would fully support her if that were the case. But she was ready to be there when it all fell apart.

“Saw ya yawnin, movie putting you to sleep?”

She jumped a little as Yosuke sat next to her. Jesus, that kid could be a ninja if he tried.

“Just a little bored actually,” she replied in an even customer service voice. She didn’t have a proper read on him if she was being honest. He hung out with Chie, but they had never done so one on one. “It’s one of Chie’s favorite movies, so i’ve seen it before. To be honest I am just waiting for the Ouija board. ”

He chuckled, “Makes sense. I didn’t realize you were into that paranormal stuff. You like horror?”

“That is my favorite genre, yes.”

“Yeah? I know a couple good horror movies if you want to watch them sometime.” 

Was that flirting? She was terrible at telling when it came to people with her. She wished she didn’t have to be so skepticle, but there was that stupid Amagi challenge going around at the school where random guys just asked her out. Chie had explained it as a confidence challenge to ask out the prettiest girl, which was supposedly her. Regardless, it was a huge hassle for her.

Luckily, Yosuke hadn’t taken the challenge, that she could tell anyways, so didn’t have to reject him and make things awkward for everyone. It made him one of the most tolerable of Chie’s guy friends.

“I’m busy for the next while,” She said diplomatically, still unsure if saying yes would be a date. With the state of the hotel that wasn’t a lie either, so win-win. “However, I would side with you if you want to choose that for our next movie night, whenever that is.”

He scratched the back of his neck and gave a thumbs up at the same time with his best customer service smile. Was he covering up disappointment? Did he fall back on the smile because he wasn’t sure how much happiness he should show? Was just that his smile? She just could not read this kid. 

“Yosuke, did you even see what just happened?” Chie whined from the otherside of the room.

“Sorry, paying attention now.”

She let herself watch him a little longer before returning to the movie herself. She really needed to figure him out.

* * *

Yosuke couldn’t hide his grin as the four of them sat around the table. The movie was cool and all, but this was the main event. Chie was white in the face as Yukiko was happily preparing the board. Minato seemed less bored than usual, which seemed to be the equivalent of excitement for him.

“Alright,” Yukiko said, struggling to contain her excitement, “So… Rules. Everyone touches the planchette, anyone who takes their hand off early is going to be haunted by the spirit. Second, everyone plays. After all, if we summon something and someone is alone, they could get possessed. That’s only fun if it’s accidental, so let's not shoot for that. Third...”

Yukiko was getting more and more in character, beginning to throw in more arbitrary warnings and rules. Silver had to be on the board, a salt circle needed to be around them (although she made sure everyone knew it was going to be on paper to make it easier to clean up), it’s like she went online and found every absurd rule possible. After a while he wasn’t even sure if she was doing this all seriously or just loved the increasingly horrified look on Chie’s face.

However… she was pretty convincing he had to admit. Combined with the rainstorm outside, he was starting to feel a little on edge as well. He felt a sense of someone lingering over his shoulder, but he knew it was all in his head.

“...and we finish by saying goodbye. I will then take care of the planchette so the link to the spirit world no longer exists. Any questions? No? Than lets begin!”

After a quick set up period, she sat down, placing her hands on the planchette. Minato followed immediately after, unphased thus far. He gulped a little and joined his two friends. Chie looked between the three of them before hanging her head in defeat and joining.

“Alright,” Yukiko happily continued, spinning around the planchette. “So clockwise first… Lets see here… How should we greet our new friend…”

She stopped as the tv turned on.

“Yukiko…” Chie whined weakly. “This is way too far for a practical joke.”

“I-I’m not doing anything.” She seemed completely off guard, a complete 180 from her previous demeanor. Minato took charge and quickly spun the planchette counterclockwise and resting it on goodbye before getting up and walking towards the TV.

“Are you both in on this?” Yosuke asked, looking between Yukiko and Minato.

“Why is everyone looking at me?” Yukiko said, getting up to look at the tv closer. “I’ve never seen it malfunction this way...”

Minato, who had already disappeared behind the device, popped his head out, holding the power cable.

“I think we’re haunted,” he noted after looking at the tv and noticing it was still on. He turned to Yukiko. “Is my rate going up?”

“You’re staying here free,” She snapped. She looked at the tv again. “Also, is that a person?”

“NOPE” Chie declared, standing up and walking to the opposite corner. “NOT happening. This is NOT happening.”

Yosuke decided it was finally time for him to check out the prank. As he got closer his heart stopped. Yukiko was right. An alluring female figure was on the screen. But it wasn't just anyone.

“Guys, who do you see on the screen?” he asked.

“It’s too blurry,” Minato said simply. Yukiko nodded in agreement.

“Well-” His words stopped in his throat. Yup. It was unmistakable. He'd recognize that adorable rounded face anywhere. “I see Saki.”

Chie stopped. “Excuse me?”

"I don't think we can say that for sure," Yukiko admitted. 

Minato cocked his head in interest. Of course he didn't know.

"She's some girl Yosuke has a massive crush on," Chie explained, as she made her way to the tv. She kneeled in front of it, squinting at the screen. "I guess it kind of looks like her if you squint. Man, is this really the midnight channel? How lame..."

"I wonder if it's like a Rorschach test," Yukiko suggested. "You just see who you think is your soulmate."

"Are we sure it's not Mayumi Yamino?" Minato asked.

Yosuke rubbed his chin in thought as the girls started debating the idea. The girl in the screen was definitely Saki. It was clear as day. How could they not see it? Well maybe…

He stepped forward, placing a finger on the screen over the tip of her head.

"Guys, could you put your finger on the top of her head?" He asked. Chie and Yukiko put their fingers on totally different parts of the screen, although the same elevation. Well, that decided that.

Minato placed his finger on the screen and the surface rippled as if it had turned into water. He could feel his finger slide into the screen, making him instinctively jump back in shock. A glance around him at his friends' shocked faces told he wasn't alone and it had happened to everyone. Everyone but Minato, who was now simply standing elbow deep in the tv.

"What the hell?" Yosuke said. "Get your hand out of there!"

Minato turned in surprise before pulling his hand out. Did… he really just accept that his hand could go in tvs like that? 

"What the hell?" Chie panicked, beginning to pace. "’Play with the Ouija Board’ they say. ‘Nothing will happen’ they say."

"To be fair, no one said nothing would happen, that's kind of the point of the board," Yukiko said, tapping the screen. "It seems solid now."

Minato walked forward and pushed his hand into the screen again, and Yukiko's taps suddenly sank in as well.

At that moment, the screen turned off. The midnight channel ended.

"Alright," Yosuke announced, "Everybody stop playing with the haunted TV. Can we figure out exactly what on earth is going on?"

"Yes please," Chie responded sitting down at the table. Yukiko and Minato took their seats as well, and finally he took his own seat.

"Let's review," he started. "The legend was the midnight channel would appear if you look at a tv alone on a rainy day, and it would show you your soulmate."

"But we just saw it together, so at least one part of that is false," Yukiko finished.

"But it did come on at midnight on a rainy day," Minato pointed out. "So the rumors were at least somewhat true."

Yosuke nodded. "And then there was the fact we all saw different images."

"We did?!" Chie asked in shock. He sighed.

"Yeah, none of us pointed to the same spot on the screen," he explained.

"But we all saw the same person, otherwise they would have been different heights," Minato pointed out.

"Yeah, plus my soul mate wouldn't be a girl," Chie said.

Yosuke raised an eyebrow. "Getting defensive there Chie?"

"Can it before I break your jaw."

"Ok, so why did Saki show up?" Yukiko asked, changing the subject. "And why was Yosuke the only one who could tell who it was?"

"Its possible she's his actual soulmate, so it was blurry to everyone but him?" Minato suggested.

"Doubtful," Chie said.

"Hey!" Yosuke shot back, "I resent that.”

“You can ‘resent that’ all you like, doesn’t change how true it is.” she countered.

“Can we discuss the fact we just stuck our hands into a TV,” Yukiko asked.

Yosuke nodded. “Yeah, but only when Minato was touching it. Any ideas here?”

There was a silence between the four of them. Yosuke sighed. Was he going to have to carry the investigation himself?

“Minato, can you stick your hand in again?” he asked. “Just to make sure it wasn’t directly linked to the midnight channel.” Minato nodded and followed the directions, sticking his hand in the TV screen. 

“Alright, so something is special about you Minato,” he declared. “If this is a prank, this is a good place to end it.”

“It’s not a prank,” Minato said simply. Despite being unreadable, he was oddly convincing.

“Alright than, first things first, we need to check out a couple things. Lets meet up at Junes tomorrow, we can talk to Saki and see if she knows anything about this. We can also check out the electronics department and see if you can stick your hand through any of those TVs. Any objections?”

Minato and Chie shook their head, but Yukiko pursed her lips.

“Sorry guys,” she said. “This sounds really fun, but things really are crazy here. I’d love to join you but… Well, I probably shouldn’t have even made time for tonight. Just keep me updated alright?”

He frowned, but nodded. He saw the other two do the same. This was going to be a fun investigation, but it was just that: fun. If she had real life issues to take care of, she needed to do it. Yukiko then grew a sly smile.

“You know, it showed Saki and Minato was the special one. Maybe this means Saki is Minato’s soul mate.”

Like hell he was going to stand for that. He wasn’t sure why Chie was suddenly siding with him, but he was more than happy for the ally against the sudden Yukiko-Minato alliance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a quick note, I do plan on writing side stories of all the social links. Some would be the same (Yosuke will still be magician), some would be different (Chie will not be Chariot), some characters who had links won't have them (Nanako), some who didn't will (Elizabeth). I have 21 planned, jester to aeon. I haven't quite decided on if I should make them their own short story collection, or have them as labeled intermission chapters, and would like your input :)
> 
> Also, if you review (thank you to everyone who has btw, I have loved every one and it's been extremely motivating!), i'd love to hear guesses on who will be what arcana!


	4. Into the TV

“Green!”

Minato felt a thud on his arm as Chie landed a punch. He rubbed it and met her smug grin with fake anger before turning his attention back to the crowd.

The Junes electronics department was bustling due to the new inventory, meaning the staff seemed to have better things to do than reprimand two teens sitting on an empty display case. It also made their people-watching game much more entertaining. Every time someone with green shoes walked by she punched him. Every time someone with blue shoes walked by he punched her. misidentification or repeats resulted in two return hits. 

“Green!”

He winced a little as the next punch landed. She had landed at least twice as many hits as him, and she was holding back a lot less then he was. She had warned him that she played often with Yukiko, but he played the game anyways. He thought there was no way the experience gap could mean anything in a game like this. He had been proven dead wrong. The girl was a hawk.

Minato checked his phone again. Yosuke was a half hour late.

Chie glanced over his shoulder and groaned, echoing his inner thoughts.

“This whole Junes trip was his idea, you’d think he’d at least show up,” she pouted.

“It’s possible he got off shift late,” he said.

“It’s also possible he’s flakey.”

“True. Blue.”

He landed a light jab on her shoulder, causing her to pout over dramatically. The pout seemed to turn into a legitimate frown.

“Ahh, come on, can’t you at least smile when you win?” 

He blinked. Had he not smiled?

“Sorry, didn’t mean to make you self conscious,” She apologized. She shifted uncomfortably. “If you don’t mind me asking… When was the last time you did smile?”

He exhaled slowly. “Don’t know.”

She kicked her dangling legs back and forth as she seemed lost in thought.

“Thats no good,” she said firmly. She nodded to herself and gave him a huge smile. “It’s decided in a unanimous vote! I'll make you smile!”

“Who all voted?” He asked with a raised eyebrow.

“The whole three person ‘Make Minato Smile’ committee: Me, myself, and I!”

He stared at her for a second. This girl was out of her goddamn mind. She barely even knew him. However, she had that stupidly sincere grin. 

He glanced to the side and punched her arm. 

“Saki’s shoes are blue.” 

* * *

Chie jumped in shock, slipping off the display case and falling to the ground. She looked up to see Minato looking down at her in amusement, and felt her cheeks reddening in embarrassment.

“God damn it Minato,” Yosuke said as he broke through the crowd towing a huge bag.“Don’t sit there, I thought you had better manners than that!” He shifted to her. “And why on earth are you on the floor? Eesh, show a little dignity.”

She hurried to her feet as Saki appeared behind him. She was only a year older, but she seemed far more mature in her Junes uniform. Between her way too feminine face and fully developed body, she could have easily passed as a college student. She was smiling in amusement.

“These are your friends?” She asked. She turned to Minato. “And this is the transfer student that can ‘go inside the TV?’ Yosuke just spent the last half hour trying to set up for this magic trick.”

“that would be me. I’m also supposed to be your soul mate,” he said as he gracefully slipped off the display. Saki giggled.

“Oh, I’ve heard,” she agreed, “Seems like you’re gonna have to share though, I hear I’m in pretty high demand.”

“Don’t worry, Yosuke can keep the rest of your harem busy.”

Chie and Yosuke looked at each other in shock, but Saki just laughed more. “Oh, I’m sure he can.”

“This has gone way too far way too fast,” Yosuke interrupted.

"Stick your hand in the tv for a topic change," Chie agreed. Sheesh, guys really did hit on anything that moved.

Minato and Saki exchanged a glance like they were both in on some sort of joke. He than shrugged before walking over and sticking his hand through one of the largest flat screens he could find.

Saki leaned in to look at the contact point a little closer, tapping the rippling surface in curiosity.

"That's… actually pretty cool," she admitted. "How much can you put in?"

"We can find out," Minato offered, slipping the upper half his body into the TV.

"Hey now-" Chie started, but Saki had already followed suit and was half way inside.

"Shit," Yosuke muttered, voicing her thoughts. They had no idea how this TV thing worked. If Saki still thought this was a joke, she might do something stupid.

She approached Minato while Yosuke went to Saki. She gave his shirt a light tug, and his head came back out.

“We have to be careful, it’s a drop off,” he said simply, just as Yosuke awkwardly tapped Saki’s shoulder. She jumped in surprise and tumbled through the screen. Yosuke dove after her instinctively, and Minato flipped his legs through the screen to follow the two.

Chie took a second to process the events before putting her hand on the now solid screen.

“It was a drop off,” She muttered to herself in disbelief. “Can they…”

She felt her chest begin to tighten up. Oh hell no. This was not what was supposed to happen. What should she do?! Should she call the police? No, they probably couldn’t do anything. Break the TV? No, what if that was their only way back?

“Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit,” she muttered pacing back and forth. Ok. Calm down. What can she do? She noticed Yosuke’s bag, and glanced inside of it. Maybe he had thought of something just in case?

Rope. Fucking rope. That idiot! If the TV would turn back to normal without Minato touching it, the rope would just break. Hasn’t he ever seen a horror movie?!

She began walking through Junes, desperate for ideas. Sludge hammers? No, breaking the tv was out. Vacuum cleaners? Useless. Birthday cards? Yeah, sending them a message was the goal, but how to do that…

She found herself in the home section and sat herself on one of the display sofas. She had nothing. She had no idea what to do. Maybe if she were a little smarter, or maybe if she had been a bit faster to follow them through the TV, or maybe… 

She pulled out her phone, and called Yosuke. No answer. She threw her phone in frustration, dropping her face into her hands.

Really? Her friends could be trapped in a parallel universe and her bright idea was to call their cell phone? How pathetic. But… what could she realistically do?

* * *

Yosuke crashed into the ground far harder than he had expected. Then again, he hadn’t expected the TV portal to be a drop off. 

He got to his feet, looking around the foggy area. It was like a cheesy movie studio, with flood lights and microphones scattered around the stage. Saki was looking around in fear, while Minato was casually brushing off his shirt. Damn, did he have to be so calm at a time like this…

“Where are we?” Saki asked, looking between the two of them with wide eyes.”This isn’t funny anymore, how do we leave?”

“I don’t know,” he responded, only then realizing how much fear was in his voice after he heard it. Was he really that shaken?

Minato walked to the nearest microphone, tapping it.

“What are you doing?” He asked, way too harshly. He exhaled slowly. He needed to calm down.

“Checking if anything is on,” Minato explained. “If this is where the midnight channel is filmed, maybe we can contact outside with the equipment.”

He blinked. “O-oh, that is a good idea.”

Minato turned to Saki. “Does this look familiar to you at all? The original reason we brought you into this was because you were on the channel.” Saki shook her head, and Minato nodded. “Very well, anyone have any particular reason to stay here? Any ideas on how to get back?”

Yosuke and Saki exchanged glances and shook their heads. Minato nodded and began walking in a random direction.

“Then lets get moving.”

He found himself following the direction before he could even process it, and stopped. Saki had followed close by him as well.

“Something wrong Yosuke?” Minato asked, causing him to grimace. Saki was giving him a look of confusion, like she couldn't comprehend why he wasn't following Minato. Something was very wrong, but… Well, nothing was really wrong. Minato was taking charge, he was good at it and someone needed to, but… He was just being stupid. Everything was fine. He flashed them a winning smile.

"Nah, everything's fine, I’ll follow your lead.”

* * *

Dojima had a lot of respect for the Amagi Inn. It was a popular tourist attraction, which brought a lot of income to their small town. Even better, it was so popular purely off its own merits. It was always nice to see the people of his hometown doing well.

It was unfortunate that he was here on business.

Adachi shadowed him as he approached the desk. The innkeeper's daughter was at the front desk and greeted them with a bow. Just before she began her welcome lines, the two of them held out their badges.

"I apologize for the intrusion, but we are looking for one of your guests," he explained.

"A Minato Arisato," Adachi continued, "He is supposed to have won a contest and just arrived. We were hoping to know if he is in, and his room number."

"What for?" the girl asked in a tone that caused him to raise an eyebrow. A glance at Adachi said he caught it too.

Her first reaction hadn't been necessarily disbelief, just surprise. She also hadn't made any moves to comply, despite her polite demeanor. Normally he wouldn’t think twice about the hesitation, it was more normal in his line of work than he would have liked, but this was the Amagi inn. They had a special relationship, considering they relied on the police department to enforce evictions. The innkeeper’s daughter, who he had watched grow up in a way, would know all about the relationship. The fact they were getting any push-back from her was abnormal. And she didn't seem to be questioning that they wanted Minato, just why. It was likely she knew something. He filed away thee fact for later. 

He was honestly impressed that Adachi came to the same conclusion. He hadn’t been in Inaba long enough to really know all the businesses. The detective might be an unqualified dunce, but he had moments that showed his astonishing potential. If the kid lived up to half it he’d make a damn good detective.

"Don't worry," Dojima said to the girl, "No one is in trouble, we just have a couple routine questions for him for the sake of thoroughness."

She looked between the two of them suspiciously as the phone rang.

"You can answer that," he said with a fake smile. She fake smiled back and picked it up.

"You have reached the Amagi Inn, this is Yukiko- Chie slow down- no, ok, look this is a really bad time. Can I call you back? Yes it is that important. Wait Saki too? Look, fill me in on this later. No, I can't leave my shift. I'm sorry, but I have to leave. goodbye." 

She hurriedly hung up with a sigh. She stared at the phone for a second, lips pursed. She then turned to them again, a giant fake grin on her face.

"I apologize. I will get you the room number right away. I am unsure if he is out, but you are free to knock and find out. I hope you both have a wonderful day, and will let me know if I can be of any further assistance!"

“Will do!” Adachi said with a genuine smile. And here he thought he could praise him. He was far too gullible for their line of work and wore his thoughts on his sleeve.

* * *

Minato felt his lips twitch towards a smile.

They had found their way into what seemed like an apartment building, and had begun searching rooms at random. They were perfect copies of one another. Large plush beds, shelves with the exact same books, even their half dead plant was wilting in the exact same direction. 

However this room was different, not only from the rest of the rooms, but from the rest of the TV world. The fog was nearly non-existent. That was a sign of something, even if he didn’t know what yet.

As he turned to face the others following him in, he noticed a couple more differences he had missed on his way in. Yes, this was certainly a lead of some sort. He motioned them to look, and found their reactions pretty amusing.

Yosuke paled and gulped. Saki stumbled a little and looked faint. He had heard of people having such reactions to blood, but it was rare to see people in a situation where they could actually have it.

The walls were stained with maybe three gallons of blood, spread out in a variety of splatters. It was all soaking into pictures of some lady that littered the walls, all of which had the faces crudely torn out. Most interesting was the chair next to the door they had all simply walked passed, positioned ominously below a crimson scarf tied off into a noose.

He inhaled deeply, smelling nothing. Even fresh blood had a metallic smell, and if it had stayed here for any length of time it would have rotted. Then again, maybe bacteria hadn’t made its way into the TV yet…

“That arrangement never means anything good,” Yosuke said grimly, pointing to the chair. Rather slow on the uptake. Were they really that shocked over the scene?

Saki dropped down, putting her hands over her ears and shutting her eyes. “I wanna go home!” Her breaths were getting quicker and shorter as she began trembling. “I can’t take this. I can’t.”

“Saki,” Yosuke said gently, “if there is anything I can do to-”

“I don’t want to hear it Yosuke,” She shot back. “I just want to go home. I just need to be home. I can't see her body again.”

Minato sighed. Well this was something he needed to take care of. At least they could now assume the girl in the pictures was Miyumi Yamano. He walked over, kneeling in front of her.

“Saki,” he said, changing his voice to what he hoped was soft. Protocol for these situations called for it. “You are having a panic attack. We are leaving the situation right now. You don’t have to open your eyes. If you hold out your hand I can guide you somewhere else.”

She slowed down her breathing a little, and held her hand out. He gently took it and began walking her out the door into another room. Yosuke was watching this all in what seemed like despair. Chie had said he had a crush on her, so he could understand seeing her like this affecting him.

He finally helped her settle in one of the identical rooms. He walked to Yosuke, giving his jacket a tug and motioning towards her. He nodded, walking over and unzipping his jacket to cover his crush. He further made breathing motions for Yosuke, who began instructing her to slow down her breathing.

Minato felt himself nodding as he witnessed the scene. Longer breaths meant deeper breaths, which avoided hyperventilation. Plus, he was helping Yosuke’s relationship and setting himself up for a friend in the process. Problems were crumbling left and right. On to the next.

“I’ll be right back,” He called back to the pair, “I’ll check out the room a little longer.”

“Be careful alright?” Yosuke called back. He nodded in response.

He made his way back down the hallway, but stopped in the door’s entryway.

A smiling child sat in the chair beneath the noose. His prison uniform was identical to when he was sharing the car with him.

“You are quite the trouble maker,” the child said. “Not that that’s a bad thing. I think it’s pretty interesting.”

“Who are you?” Minato asked.

The child ignored him, looking at the stained wall. “You aren’t the only interesting one here, are you? In fact this is all pretty interesting. Who could have done this I wonder?”

Minato simply waited for him to be done. He didn’t seem malicious. Yet. However, there was obviously something much deeper going on right now. The child turned back to him.

“You wanted to know my name? I suppose that is something I should have, in case we keep meeting. I will go by Pharos.”

“Pharos,” Minato repeated, and the child seemed delighted.

“It’s fun to have a name,” Pharos said. “It feels good.”

“Pharos,” Minato said again slowly, “Do you know a way out of here?”

“Oh, of course not.”

He sighed, and Pharos giggled. “But,” the boy continued, “It’s trivial to make one.”

Pharos snapped his fingers, and he heard a thud from the room with the others. He grinned.

“Just follow the TV out. However, I will warn you, this is the only time I will do this. Next time you enter, you will have to leave on your own.”

The boy faded out of existence and back into it maybe a foot in front of him. They examined each other calmly.

"It know you’re here," Pharos finally said. "You can no longer afford to close your eyes or cover your ears. 

"Can you tell me what 'It' is?" Minato asked. Pharos shrugged apologetically.

"Minato!" Yosuke shouted as he ran into the room, "You aren't going to believe this, some TV's just fell from the ceiling!"

Minato didn't have to look to know Pharos was no longer there.

"That's probably our way out," Minato said.

Yosuke blinked in surprise. "What makes you say that? It could just bring us somewhere even more dangerous!"

"Intuition."

* * *

Chie looked up in shock as three bodies tumbled through the Junes television. Her body was moving on it’s own as she rushed to them. Saki seemed shaky in the knees, but with Yosuke’s support was standing just fine. Minato was literally brushing dust off his pants like some sort of action hero. 

“You guys came back,” She said in slight awe. She sniffled. So what if she had spent the last hour crying. She thought her friends had died.

Suddenly rage welled up inside her. She realized she was still holding the rope Yosuke had planned to use. She hurled it at Minato, the closest one. He actually stumbled back from the force, a feat she normally would be proud of.

“The hell is wrong with you!” Chie shouted at them. “What were you thinking! You are all colossal idiots! I had no idea what to do! The TV was just normal, and I couldn’t pass through again, and I was so worried and-” She sniffled again. “And I hate you!”

She brought her arm to her face to cover her ugly cry, sprinting away. Thank god they came back. Fuck them for doing that! At least now she could be mad at them. She’ll make them wish they had died in there!

Oh god they almost died. 

She sat behind Junes letting herself cry out. How uncool could she be? Her friends just had the adventure of a lifetime, and she was sitting behind a god damn Junes crying. Hell, all she had done during their time there was sit in front of a TV and cry. 

What kind of trashy country stereotype was she?

She tried her best to steady her breathing. The scariest part had been how alone she had been. She could name half the people in Inaba, but in that moment she had no one. Even Yukiko had blown her off. All she had been able to do is sit in front of that impossible barrier and hope. In fact, anything she did might have done could have made things exponentially worse. 

And now she probably scared off any prospect of Yosuke and Minato being her friends with that outburst. God damn it, why did they have to act like this was all a game? It was pure dumb luck that they could get out.

She took a deep breath and pushed herself to her feet, wiping what she hoped were the last of her tears on her sleeve. She was better than this. Did she even ask them if they were ok? Saki had needed help to stand up.

She felt her phone vibrate,which she pulled out to see Yukiko calling her. She answered immediately.

"Hello? Yukiko?"

"Chie? Sorry about earlier. I was talking to the police. Don't worry it was nothing important. But things finally quieted down here and I wanted to check in on you."

Chie sat back down the Junes. Looks like she wasn't ready to leave just yet.

* * *

Elizabeth stared her sister down with determination, muscles straining. This was not a simple competition of strength. This was a battle of wills. It was a battle in a long and sacred rivalry, the type of which shaped one's very identity. It was one that tested the limits of one ability, endurance, and strength of heart.

Margret's face was contorted into a scowl from effort, a fact Elizabeth was taking great pride in. The older sibling had established her power among the siblings, creating a power hierarchy she very much wanted to upset.

The table beneath their elbows groaned as she let her passion drive her power. Ah yes, another benchmark. Their master had created the table for them as a competitive outlet. Making it groan was a sign of strength beyond even his expectations. He had insisted that the wrestling of arms was far preferable to their former bouts. She agreed to some extent, the isolation of a singular limb in competition introduced a level of mental fortitude to the battle that was previously missing. 

However, it also greatly simplified the engagement, which removed the unpredictably that she had found exhilarating. It regrettably seemed she would not witness her sister struck by a surprise steamroller again. It hadn't done much physically, but the mental damage had been immeasurable.

It seemed her master had been more concerned about the collateral however. She found the notion ridiculous. Humans called large canyons grand, surely the aftermath of one of their bouts would be celebrated for generations!

"You're going to break the table!"

Elizabeth felt her attention lapse, and her sister wasted no time slamming her hand onto the table. She winced a little at the impact as her sister wiped the sweat from her brow with quite possibly the smuggest expression in the history of expressions. She felt her lips drop into a frown. That was the expression she had hoped to have. 

She stood up from the table, and scanned the break room. It was mostly empty, littered with simple knickknacks their master had allowed them to keep. Most notable was Margret's television, which she used to watched reality TV. She claimed it was clearly the truest way to experience the outside world. Clearly her own dictionary and intuition was far better, but that was a battle for another time.

However, her eyes glossed over all that, finding the source of the earlier interruption. It was a conventionally attractive blond man, dressed in the same blue as the sisters. He had just walked through a door and was quickly becoming pale. This was most likely not what he had expected after attending his guest..

"Theo," she called out to her brother, causing him to gulp. "Come here."

Knowing his tractability, she had no doubt in his compliance. He cautiously made his way over, . Despite him being far taller, the vast difference in presence had her seeming to tower over him like a parent over a child.

"Don't take your loss out on him," Margret chuckled. "Maybe if you had proper posture you would have had a chance."

"Unfortunately," Elizabeth said dismissively, "I don't take advice from the supercilious. Now than dearest Theo, I believe you have something to say to me? I am quite excited to hear it."

He began stammering, spewing out half phrases. Of course, his eloquence is that of a fish on land. How he got a guest before her she will never understand. It may be that their master had a soft spot for the pitiable. Perhaps on the next anniversary of his birth, she should grant him a kicked puppy as his customary gift?

"You must forgive me," she interrupted, cutting off his babbling, "but I have a proposal. Seeing as you lack the ability to string words together coherently, perhaps I should offer an alternative way to make up for your mistake?” He seemed even more concerned now.

“Calm down,” she chuckled, grabbing his ear and pulling his head down to her lips.

He seemed to relax as she began giving him instructions, and actually began to smile. Had he actually worried about her plan? Every plan she crafted was naturally brilliant. So much so that when they went uninterrupted, and no one got hurt, and when their master didn’t put a stop to it, and the results were what she expected, it went flawlessly.

This one would be no different.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, Teddie will be in the story, just not this chapter.
> 
> Now then, i'm up so late it's early so I'll keep it short, but thank you all so much for the comments and kudos! It's been incredibly encouraging, and I hope you will all enjoy the direction the story as it starts to diverge more and more!


	5. Shadows

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this is a little late, I'm in the process of moving so this was all written, edited, and posted via phone (internet already left with the roomate). It seems like the next chapter or two might be a week late as well.

Minato enjoyed his solitary walk to school, the combo of thick fog and headphones guaranteeing that no random passerby thought to strike up a conversation. It gave him time to reflect.

He liked the TV world. Playing field commander and solving those problems on the fly had been fun, and he was good at it. Thematically, he enjoyed the places cameras. That final room had been interesting as well. Next time they wouldn't bring Saki, Yukiko seemed to be more reliable when it came to things like this. Next time he and Yosuke entered they should bring her.

Chie, while he looked forward to talking to her more normally, didn't seem very well suited for this type of thing. Of course, maybe she just needed a bit of exposure first, after all it was all just about nerves. There was no actual danger as far as he could tell, so there was no harm in bringing her if she really wanted. And she did want to be included.

Ah yes, he would also need to apologise for the day before. He and Yosuke had debriefed and agreed it was going to be the best course of action. She had just been worried about them. Even if she was a bit too genuine for her own good, that was more a positive quality than a negative.

Yukiko, Yosuke, Chie. It was a pretty good investigation team. Perhaps he could enlist them to help them learn about the child as well…

No. Something told him that needed to be him alone. The contract he signed with the child was most likely why he could go inside of TVs. There had also been the dream with the Velvet Room. He wasn't one for vivid dreams, so he wouldn't dismiss its importance. Doubly so because it related to the contract. If he had to guess Pharos and Igor had some sort of alliance.

If the investigation led to any of this, he would be forthcoming. Until then, this would be his personal project.

As he reached the school, he noticed the student body filing into the gym. He popped his ear buds out, quickly picking up that they were supposed to have an emergency assembly.

* * *

Saki Konishi was found dead, hanging from a TV antennae. 

Yukiko felt a knot develop in her stomach. The two of them weren't close, but no one in Inaba was that far removed from each other. They had both attended Yumi's birthday party four years ago, and had left it on good terms.

But the timing was what got her. It was too much. There wasn't a doubt her death was related to the midnight channel. And by extension…

She turned to look at her friends. Chie was white as a ghost. She had known Saki a lot better than herself. Yosuke looked like his world was falling apart. It probably was.

Minato though? Expressionless. Instead of showing surprise, he was carefully examining the expressions of those around him. Including hers. She looked away quickly.

Murders start the second he comes to Inaba. He's staying off the grid with hotels. He is the only one capable of interacting with the TV, where Saki was shown. According to Chie they had fully gone inside the TV together. He was seemingly the only one unaffected by any of this. If he wasn't the murderer, he was at least closely related. The police coming all but confirmed they were following the same line of reasoning.

How was she supposed to handle something like this? She couldn't confide in Chie. They were too close already. The police were an obvious step, but she didn't have anything but speculation. Yosuke though…

She pulled out a scrap of paper, writing down a message, careful to make sure Minato's eyes were elsewhere. She moved through the crowd towards the trio. She bumped into Yosuke, leaving the paper in his jacket pocket before moving to Chie.

It was expected that she console her. She had to move carefully. Act as Minato expected. Missteps could lead to another victim.

And it could be her.

* * *

Chie didn't hear a word said through the day's lectures.

Saki was dead. Any passing idea she still had of whatever this was being safe was gone. The TV world wasn't a game. They didn't know if exposure to the world had killed her. Maybe it was just showing up on the midnight channel. Would Minato and Yosuke suddenly die next? Oh god, what if it was anyone who saw It? How many people would die?!

Yukiko seemed absorbed in thought and was writing so furiously that there was no way it was anything other than a coping mechanism. She thought Minato was unaffected at first, but he didn't take a single note. He was simply gazing off into space.

It took him hours to pass the first note.

*I'm sorry about yesterday*

She wasn't sure what she expected, but it hadn't been that. Compared to Saki, it all seemed petty. They needed to stick together now.

*I'm sorry for exploding at you*, she wrote back.

He looked at it for a second before he wrote back.

*You have a good throwing arm."

She gave a hollow chuckle. She knew it was just him trying to keep things light, but it had been a good throw.

Saki's death wouldn't hit him like the rest of them. He didn't know her from the playground on his first day of school. His parents didn't discuss the Konishis over dinner. He hadn't needed to apologise to them when his dog dug a hole in their yard.

This wasn't his problem. But he had tried to make her laugh. He was trying to be part of the solution. Heck, since he probably didn't share this damn numbness she was feeling, he was probably the only one qualified to be the rock they would need.

Could he stop being a damn anime protagonist for ten seconds?

His hands darted across his page.

"The four of us should meet on the roof during lunch. We have things to discuss."

The four of them. She liked the sound of that. If she had anything to say about it it'd stay that way.

* * *

Minato didn't hold Yosuke's lateness against him. He had skipped lunch to come immediately. Chie had grabbed a loaf of bread she wasn't touching. Yukiko came by a couple minutes later with some instant noodles. If anything Yosuke was on time and they had been early. He hadn't bought anything either, but it seemed no one actually had an appetite.

The three looked at him expectantly. He found himself shifting a little under their gaze. Being a field commander was fun. Solving immediate tangible problems. This though… this was the type of leadership he wasn't sure how to handle. He was a listener, not a speaker.

"I think we all know why we're here," he began. "I'll be honest. I'm the least person who should talk about Saki. So I won't. You are each going to handle this differently. Do what you need. Take the time you need."

Yosuke was looking off the roof into the distance in what looked like pain. Chie was looking at him as if he had answers. Yukiko looked like she was trying to forcibly extract the answers from him. He sighed and continued.

"I'm responding to all this by exploring more of the TV. It is clear it is dangerous. We can't get anyone else involved until we understand the dangers. We have no reason to think Saki will be the last. If anyone else wants to join me, that is up to you. Ill wait at Junes for an hour after school. However, I won't think any less of you if you don't. This isn't a game and I don't want you to make the decision lightly. Thats all."

Yosuke scoffed before chuckling quietly. "You're right, this isn't a game," he said harshly. "If it were, I'd stop playing. But this is real life. Saki is really… not with us. That's why there is no way in hell I'm staying on the sidelines. Not until I know why."

Minato nodded, waiting for Chie to object. To his surprise though, she stayed silent while Yukiko immediately turned on him.

"And do what?" She snapped. "You think you can do anything hanging from an antennae? We don't know ANYTHING. No one should be going in there. We should-"

"I'm going."

Everyone's attention snapped to Chie after her declaration. Her fists were clenched so tight her knuckles were white. However, she had a determination in her eyes that he hadn't seen before.

"I'm not letting you risk your lives alone," she said decisively. "I wasn't able to help you before, but I'm not letting you two face that danger alone. Well, not again at least."

Yukiko bit her lip, looking between the three of them.

"Well if we are going we need to stick together," she said reluctantly. "I'm in."

Minato looked between them. They were his investigation team. They had assembled under unfortunate circumstances, but here they were.

He felt the weight of responsibility on his shoulders. They knew nothing. They were facing an amorphous threat. They had no resources.

But they would pull through.

"I'm glad everyone is on board," he said. "First off, a summary of what we saw in the TV…"

* * *

Yosuke was the first one through the TV. He landed on his feet this time. It was the same landing zone, so at least they could rely on entering at the same place.

The fog in the TV world was swirling around them ominously. It somehow seemed even thicker than before, but it could easily just be his imagination. He hoped it was his imagination, the alternative was something he didn't want to think about.

The others were entering, their defacto leader taking the rear.

"First order of business," Minato said as he landed, "Secure an escape route. Secondary objective is to keep an eye out for water. If escape takes too long that will take priority. Stay close together, perception is limited. Keep an eye out for anything suspicious. Until we know what the cause of death was, everything is a hazard."

Everyone nodded, and almost as if on cue a white and red shape started barreling towards Yukiko from the fog.

He instinctively moved to intercept, and saw Minato do the same. Yukiko seemed to panic and froze.

Neither of them were fast enough. However, Chie planted herself between the two, already mid spin. The shape collided with her spinning heel kick, collapsing on the ground. He and Minato stopped moving in shock, and even Chie herself looked surprised.

Now that it was knocked out, they could get a good look at it in relative safety. It was some sort of bear-cat mascot, with bright primary colors that seemed designed to appeal to children.

"So, any idea what on earth this thing is?" He asked.

"I don't know, maybe some sort of… cat?" Chie attempted.

"Its… kinda cute?" Yukiko said with a shrug. "When it's not charging you of course."

On that note, the creature's eyes shot open.

"You really think so?" It asked, once white face now blushing. Minato immediately moved towards it to block it attacking the team again. It's eyes widened and began crawling away backwards.

"Get away from him!" It shouted. It tried to stumble to its feet to try to run, but this time Yosuke was ready. He reached the creature almost instantly and swept it's legs, throwing it to the ground. The other three surrounded it before it could get to its feet again.

"Why would we need to stay away from him?" Chie asked, crossing her arms. "You're the one who was attacking us."

"Can't you smell the death on him?" The thing said with a shudder. Yosuke immediately met Yukiko's eyes, and she shot into questioning.

"You're saying he killed someone?" She demanded. How subtle. Strangely, Minato seemed very interested in the answer.

"Well… no," the thing admitted. "Killing someone doesn't change your smell. But that girl who was just attacked by shadows was in here with him before!"

"What is a shadow?" Minato immediately pushed. "Are those the things that killed Saki?"

Yosuke felt his heart plunge as those words were said, but narrowed his focus on their captive. 

"Shadows are the monsters that live here, " it explained bitterly. "She was here when the fog lifted, that's when the shadows get aggressive. Do you… really not know that?"

"We don't know anything," Chie said with a huff. "We're just… trying to figure out what happened."

"So… You aren't the ones who threw her here?" The thing asked in shock. They all shook their heads.

"When does the fog lift?" Minato asked.

"When the fog shows up on your side," it responded reluctantly.

Minato nodded, deep in thought.

"Well guys," Yosuke said, "this info is great and all, but now we have bear thing to deal with."

"I'm not a bear thing," it said in a huff. "My name is Teddy!"

"Teddie, can you get us back to the other side?" Minato asked. Yosuke scoffed internally. Why would this thing be able to-

"Of course I can, what kind of bear couldn't?"

Everyone's eyes widened except Minato's, who simply nodded.

"He's coming with us than," he decided.

"You can't make that decision for me!" Teddie rejected.

"Uh, this thing kinda attacked us," Chie pointed out. "Is it really smart to bring it with us?"

"I would never hurt a maiden!" Teddie said aghast. "I was going to rescue the pretty ladies from… that guy." He pointed to Minato, who didn't react to the accusation.

"In that case, I'd love for you to be our guide Teddie," Yukiko said with a grin. "That way you can also protect us from the shadows." Teddie gasped.

"Fear not fair lady, Teddie shall be your white knight!" He said with determination. 

Yosuke watched the whole scene play out in silence. This was all working out a little too well.

Yukiko had expressed her concerns about Minato. Now that she pointed it out he couldn't stop seeing the signs everywhere.

Minato was way too calm about literally everything. The timing of his arrival. Now instantly finding this Teddie thing and it helping them, it having the exact skill set they need.

But there was no silver bullet. A lot of circumstantial evidence to be sure, but no hard evidence. Minato was weird, but the more time he spent with him the more he was convinced he was just a bit socially awkward. He made up with it with his absurd charisma, for some reason people seemed to naturally follow him, but he just didn't seem used to being around people.

Yukiko chose her stance. Despite her not being aware of it, Chie was a stronger advocate for Minato than even he was. Judging by the way Yukiko was now petting this Teddie thing's head as it glared at Minato, she had her own advocate. 

Minato and Chie against Yukiko and Teddie. That left him as the only undecided tie breaker. The only one who could look at the evidence impartially.

Judge. Jury. Executioner. Whatever role he needed to play for Saki to see justice he'd play it.

"Teddie," he said. "Can you take us to where… it happened?"

* * *

The area Teddie led them to greatly resembled the Inaba shopping district. Minato found it all fascinating. First the apartments, now this. The places in the TV seemed to be some sort of reflection of the town. However, the way they were connecting didn't seem to follow any rhyme or reason.

"This is the liqueur store Saki's family ran," Yosuke said as he approached a rather unremarkable building. Minato appreciated it. He was undoubtedly filling in info for him, seeing how the others undoubtedly knew this.

Yosuke opened the door to the building, only to jump back in shock. The doorway seemed to be completely filled by an unnatural swirling black liquid, the sight of which gave him goosebumps.

Yosuke backed up to regroup with the rest of them, as he walked forward. As the defacto leader he was going to have to be the first to face the danger.

"Shadows," Teddie said in panic behind him. "We need to leave!"

As if on cue, four blobs of darkness fell from the doorway, shifting as if they were alive. The forms levitated into the air and folded into themselves, rapidly changing features until they settled on zebra striped orbs.

Teddie began crying in distress as the orbs split open to reveal toothy mouths and a tongue at least as long as he was tall.

"Move Minato!" He heard Chie shout from behind him, but he began walking forward instead.

Something was stirring inside of him. It wasn't just the sudden bloodlust and adrenaline as the shadows began moving towards him, but what felt like a resonation within his soul.

"I art thou, thou art I" it seemed to say. He could feel power flow from him, as a card began to materialize in front of him.

The shadows were quickly approaching, but there was nothing but calm within him. He was the eye of the storm of carnage about to be released. A shadow like that was nothing to him. 

As he reached out to the card in front of him, a single word slipped from his lips.

"Persona"

He clenched his hand into a fist, shattering the card. The energy flowed out of him, materializing itself into a figure behind him. 

"I am Orpheus, Lord of Strings," he said. Or perhaps his persona did. The line between them was so fuzzy he questioned its existence.

The shadows foolishly kept charging. Orpheus' fingers darted across the strings of his lyre, causing the first shadow to erupt into flames. It let out a scream as the black ooze boiled, causing it to erupt into a cloud of steam.

The other shadows paused, and seemed to think better of a blind charge. Instead they began circling him. It was useless of course. They were ants circling a full grown human.

They all charged simultaneously. Orpheus moved to destroy two of them using his lyre as a club, Minato charged the third.

The way he moved was inhuman. His body seemed to react more to his thoughts than his actions. It was like he was coming off a drug, where a fog had lifted from his mind and body. Reality had been holding him back, and now he had a clarity he could have only imagined. Only here, facing death could he truly live. He was born to fight. He was born to survive.

He was born to kill.

The shadow's tongue lashed at him, but it looked like it was in slow motion. He dodged the attack with the minimum effort needed, the tongue coming so close it brushed clothes.

The saved time wasn't wasted though. He was now, directly beneath the shadow, and launched a kick that closed it's jaw with such force the creature's tongue was severed from its body.

As it screamed and retreated, he pounced. Planting his feet on the thing's bottom teeth, he grabbed the top row and pulled. He immediately reached the limit of its jaw, but didn't stop there. Putting his entire body into one motion, he ripped the creature in half.

The shadow's levitation ended, and he tossed aside the creature's top half as he rode the bottom into the ground. He didn't need to look to know Orpheus had dispatched the other two. He had seen him do so with his shared senses.

He let his persona dissipate and felt himself relax. He turned to his team.

Fear. Disbelief. Awe. All four of them expressed all three in varying amounts. He suddenly hoped he didn't have to explain what happened, because he had no clue.

Another shape emerged from the doorway, and he immediately re-summoned his card. This time however, the shape was of a girl. She had a white cloak, hood drawn to obscure any features.

A wave of power resonated from her, and immediately his power high vanished. The shadows had been ants facing a man, but now he was a man facing a god.

"Run! Whatever that thing is it isn't a shadow!" Teddie shouted from behind him.

*It violated our ceasefire* a voice within him said. And suddenly he knew he couldn't back away from the fight.

Call it pride. Call it a territorial instinct. Call it an assertion of dominance. Whatever it was, something within him was disgusted by the disrespect the girl had shown him.

He stepped towards her, a second card appearing before him, which he swiped without hesitation. 

"Izanagi"

The figure scoffed, and with a wave of her hand a pillar of impossibly violent wind ripped his new persona to shreds. Pain shot through him, but he only allowed himself a wince before he summoned Orpheus' card, shattering it instinctively.

This time however, something was different. His entire existence was enveloped by a searing pain shooting through his skull. As his senses began to fade, he was distantly aware of his own screaming as something began clawing its way out of Orpheus. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I'd say this chapter is where the 'intro' ends and the divergence truly begins, so very excited to keep this going! In my downtime I have finalized 
> 
> There seems to be quite a bit of interest in the pairing I'm going for, so thought I'd adress that. I'm still debating going the typical route of pairing him off with someone, or going the atlus route and writing friendship/romance endings for each romantic interest's social link and letting the readers pick their own pairings. Also, although Chie seems to be the one that I'd pick if I stuck to one, by the end of the first arc you will understand why I don't consider her to be the obvious choice (although she is in the running).
> 
> Also, I have mostly stopped responding to comments, but not because I don't appreciate them. I absolutely 100% do, some of the responses have left me blushing. However, im worried that essentially doubling the number of comments will give me an unfair advantage in visibility for those who search by comment count. Let me know if thats crazy. I will certainly respond to any questions and fix any mistakes you might find though! 
> 
> To everyone who comments, and those who don't, I'm thrilled you have stuck aroynd this long, hope you are enjoying the story, and hope you continue to in the future :)


	6. Marie

Chie felt like she was watching a horror movie.

The shadows alone had been eldritch horrors. Minato summoning what Teddie called a persona on top of that was a lot to take in. If the story had ended there though, she would have been able to accept things.

But then this… thing appeared. It had swatted Minato's persona like a fly. Teddie, their guide in this hellscape, had no idea what was happening and was in a total panic. And just as the icing on the cake, Minato began screeching bloody murder as both he and his persona started holding their head in pain.

What sounded like bones cracking suddenly resonated through the streets, and even the strange woman-god thing backed up. An arm shot up out of his persona's mouth, and began ripping his persona apart, revealing some hulking creature. Coffins materialized around it as it tore away the last remains of the original persona.

It gave a roar that filled every ounce of her with terror. She wasn't sure what the thing was, but she knew what it was to her.

Death.

She wanted to run, but her body refused to respond. Luckily, the creature paid her no mind and steadied it's gaze on the woman.

They both seemed to vanish, but a split second later she was hit by an overwhelming sensory overload. All across the faux city lightning was crashing, pillars of flames were replaced by sheets of ice that were immediately shattered. Buildings were blown apart as if they were toothpicks between colliding freight trains.

Her survival instincts finally kicked in and she hit the ground covering her head with her hands. It wouldn't do anything, but years of hurricane and earthquake drills taught her this was going to be better than standing there like an idiot.

She caught a glimpse of Yosuke doing the same to her left, and felt a surge of relief. If he was doing it as well it couldn't be that bad of a decision.

Behind her Teddie and Yukiko were following suit. She glanced up and her heart skipped a beat. 

Minato stood in the exact same place as when that thing had emerged, still clutching his head. He was no longer writhing, but was staring lifelessly at the pavement.

She looked to Yosuke and immediate understanding ran between them. They needed to do something.

In unison they jumped to their feet, sprinting at the newest Inaba resident. Debris from a destroyed building was pelting them, but luckily it was all small enough to just push through. They reached Minato, and wasted no time tackling him to the ground. Chie got below him, using her body as a cushion to stop concussions as he hit the ground and Yosuke was covering his head from more debris.

Minato's expression didn't change through any of this. Now that she had touched him, she realized every muscle in his body was unbelievably tense, so much so he had probably been standing just based on how much his body had locked up.

After what felt like hours, but was probably only minutes, the chaos suddenly ended. Just as she felt like sighing in relief Minato went completely limp.

They immediately jumped into action. Chie laid him flat on his back while Yosuke pressed his finger to his neck for a pulse.

"He's alive," he said in relief. At this point Teddie and Yukiko had regrouped with them, both looking as shaken as she felt.

Yosuke knelt down, putting his finger over his lips for them to remain quiet before motioning them to put Minato on his back. The message was clear. They didn't know who actually won the fight and needed to move.

She and Yukiko complied immediately, as Teddie began sniffing the air and silently giving directions. Yosuke stood up, carrying Minato piggy back style as he began leading the way. The sight made her shiver.

If this was a manga the scene would be triumphant. However, Minato didn't have plot armour. Whatever that thing was could have killed him. Almost killed him. Carrying home his limp body was a reality check. 

* * *

Kusumi flew backwards as she launched spell after spell trying to slow it down. Thanatos. Fucking Thanatos. What kind of cruel sick joke was this?

She paused in the middle of the street, waiting for the creature to be the perfect distance before pushing all of her energy into a Megidolaon. The blast of which leveled several buildings, but Thanatos simply pushed through it. Before she could react it landing a punch that shattered her jaw.

Tears of pain began welling up before a Dirahan fused the bone painlessly back together. She ducked the monsters next wide swing, and moving behind it blasted it's back with an Agidyne. The monster stumbled forward, and she encased it in a glacier of ice with Bufudyne.

The ice only held for maybe a half second, but it was more than long enough. In the time, she had prepared three Ziodynes, all of which struck their target simultaneously. By the time Thanatos was done convulsing, she had slipped into a building and hid her presence.

She found herself panting. The monster was inexhaustible, and after minutes of nonstop action she was reaching her limit.

"Ah, there you are Marie."

Her head snapped to the source of the voice, a blue garbed woman sitting comfortably in a chair in the corner of the room. She seemed completely unconcerned with the mass destruction going on around her, and was lazily closing a thick tome she seemed to have been paging through.

What was most off putting though was not only had she not noticed her earlier, she still couldn't detect her power. However, the name she said immediately jogged her memory.

"You're the girl from the road," she said in realization. Thanatos roared outside and she instinctively shrank in fear.

"I'm not sure you've noticed," Kusumi said harshly, "but I'm in the middle of something. You should leave before you get caught in the crossfire."

The girl in blue giggled. "Yes I've noticed. You seem to be quite powerless in the situation might I add. No judgement of course, struggle in the face of futility is quite endearing."

"Powerless?" She repeated incredulously. "Just who do you think you are that you can call me powerless?"

"Oh, my apologies, sometimes my manners seem to escape me." she said. "I am Elizabeth, attendant of the velvet room, servant of Igor, servant of Philemon. I am here to once again invite you to the velvet room, we believe you will be more amenable now that you have faced some slight hardship. You may want to move a foot to your right."

Kusumi scooted to her right, just as Thanatos tore through the wall, clenching his fist where she had just been.

She forgot all about Elizabeth and jumped right back into the action. A blast of wind launched the two of them away from each other, but Thanatos immediately rushed her to try and close the gap. She threw up walls of ice to slow him down, taking the time to throw out four sheets of paper. 

As the ice shattered, golden runes began emerging between the spell tags. A surge of holy energy burst forth, but Thanatos just sidestepped and rushed her. God damn it, light attacks never hit.

She felt broken ribs puncture her lungs as Thanatos spartan kicked her through a building. By the time she healed, Thanatos was on her, holding her on the ground by her neck. He ruthlessly launched fist after fist at her face, leaving just enough time between each for her to recover. Each time, new cracks in the concrete spider webbed out from beneath her head. She covered her head with her arms, but it didn't help much.

She felt her magical reserves drying up. She needed a way out of this, she could only heal so many more times. 

"As I was saying before I was interrupted," Elizabeth said as she appeared to her right, "We would like to extend an invitation. Now that you have been used by your current master as a pawn to see if their contract would actually be enforced, perhaps you are, as they say 'in the market' for a better master. Particularly one who can actually help you achieve your goals and grant you power to change the world."

Despite the onslaught, or perhaps because of it, the words struck her deep. She was given this mission knowing this might happen? Was she actually thrown out to the wolves just to see if they would bite?

That bitch.

"If you wish to join us," Elizabeth continued, "merely say 'I accept the velvet contract'. Actually, your face is rather preoccupied. Perhaps try wiggling your toes? No, that's no good, I can't tell if that is convulsing or wiggling…"

Thanatos' onslaught suddenly ended, and Kusumi briefly wondered she had finally died and the pain stopped. This was followed by the belief her eyes hadn't healed properly. 

Elizabeth stood above her effortlessly holding Thanatos' fist. It's arm began to shake as it tried to find the force to break free of her grip, and it roared in frustration. He let go of her throat and launched his other fist at Elizabeth in a full bodied haymaker.

She casually stopped it with a single finger, despite the force generated from the punch shattering all the windows on the street. She frowned.

"You've become a real pest," she noted, flicking his head. One moment the monster's upper body was there, the next moment it was simply gone, replaced by blood splatter on the building behind him. Elizabeth casually tossed aside what was left of its arm as the lower body crumbled to the ground.

Kusumi had never seen such a display of power. She hasn't even considered it's possibility. Elizabeth just giggled.

"Perhaps I should have held back a bit more?" She mused. "Regardless, you may now accept or decline our offer Marie."

* * *

"Welcome back"

Minato again found himself in the velvet room. Igor rested his chin on his interlocked fingers as he chuckled in anticipation. Elizabeth seemed just as interested in him as before, if not more so. There was a third person he didn't recognize however.

Unlike Elizabeth, the only blue she was wearing was a cap and a messanger bag. She had a fairly typical white button up and short red skit, as well as thigh high black and white socks and red gloves that almost entirely covered her arms.

She looked out of place. Perhaps it was a testament to the overwhelming confidence the other two were exuding, but the way she avoided looking at him directly and fidgeted under his gaze was unlike anything else in the room.

"Ahh, I see you have noticed our newest resident, Marie" Igor said, pleased. "She will be under the tutilage of Elizabeth for the foreseeable future. 

Marie nodded. "Nice to meet you… I guess…"

Elizabeth seemed to find this particularly amusing, and Marie blushed at her chuckling.

"Back to business," Igor continued. "It seems you have awoken your persona, Orpheus. However, as I'm sure you have realized, you have a very special gift: that of the wild card. There are many meanings to this, but the one most immediately observable is the ability to manifest multiple persona.

"These persona are all an aspect of you, as well as a manifestation of the bonds you have created. These bonds, which can be viewed as social links between you and those around you, are what drive your inner strength, and thus the strength of your persona."

Igor hesitated. "Normally, this is where I would encourage you to develop these bonds. And I stand by the fact that you will need to do so. However, you will find yourself in a difficult predicament when you awake and may find yourself with different priorities. To assist with this, we shall undertake a summoning with the bonds you have already developed."

Elizabth opened her heavy tome, and four cards floated out of it. They vanished and reappeared in a stack in front of him.

"Imbue them with your essence," Igor urged, "and we will handle the rest."

Minato closed his eyes and rested his hand on the stack. He felt an essence flow from him into the cards. Nothing left him, the cards simply also had the essence. It was like a shared thought, or an impression left.

"Excellent," Igor said in approval. He opened his eyes to find the cards now in front of Igor on his desk. With a swipe of his hand, the cards flipped in a blinding light.

Four creatures appeared above the cards, each of them bowing to him before Elizabeth released a wave of power that shattered them, the shards coalescing inside of their respective cards.

"Ghoul, of the Death Arcana," Igor began rattling off. "Angel of the Justice Arcana. Asparas of the Priestess Arcana. Valkyrie of the Strength Arcana. These are the persona your bonds have awoken. As you strengthen your bonds with individuals that progress your development, you may awaken stronger persona of the arcana they represent in your life."

Minato nodded in acknowledgement. Simple instructions. Be social. Get strong. A clear objective, a clear way to achieve it.

Marie was fidgeting more than normal, and he cocked an eyebrow at her. Her face went red and she looked away again. He had to admit, he very much preferred the other two's professionalism over whatever this was.

"Relax Marie," Elizabeth said, "You will learn how to do this by the next time our guest arrives."

This seemed to calm her a bit, and she nodded.

"It is time for us to once again part ways," Igor interrupted. "Unfortunately I have many matters to attend to. However, the velvet room will always be open to you. You will know how to reach us when the time comes."

* * *

As Minato left, the room shifted into an empty blue box. Marie released a sigh of relief. He hadn't recognized her.

She hadn't expected to get so flustered though. She had just stood there like an idiot, not even knowing what her job was going to be.

A blue door materialized, and a taller blond man stepped through, holding a book like Elizabeth's. He quickly gave Igor a formal bow.

"Theodore," Igor greeted. "Thank you for your immediate response. Now than, may I see both of your compendiums?"

The two handed their tomes to Igor without hesitation, and after paging through them he began frowning.

"I have official business to attend to," he said as he handed back the books. "Tend to the guests yourselves should they need assistance."

The two nodded obediently, and Marie did the same as soon as she realized she was supposed to. This was going to take some getting used to.

Igor faded out and Elizabeth immediately turned to the man.

"Theo, how have preparations been going?"

He shrank nervously. "Ms. Cluckles has been getting stage fright due to Morgana's constant harassment. It seems there will be a slight delay."

Elizabeth's eyebrow rose. "You named the chicken Ms. Cluckles?"

"Lavenza's insistence. I was personally an advocate for Freya, the Fuhrer of Feathers."

"Excellent work. With a name like that Morgana would not have dared interfere. On that note, have you considered throwing them on mars for a 'vacation'? It is quite nice there this time of year, and they would be unlikely to interfere at such a distance."

"Sister, Morgana needs oxygen."

"I was talking about Lavenza."

Marie shifted uncomfortably. She had no idea how to process their conversation. She had no idea who these people were talking about, or even who this Theo was. Should she include herself? Should she leave? She didn't exactly have anywhere to go.

Elizabeth seemed to pick up on this and giggled.

"Theodore, perhaps our current tasks are misaligned with our talents. I propose you teach Marie compendium basics using your patience and I shall prepare Ms. Cluckles using my overwhelming charisma."

He looked shocked, and Marie had the sudden feeling she was being handed off.

"Is she not your responsibility?" He asked, voicing her main concern. She was promised instruction on how to change the world, not to be dropped on a whim to go bully whoever Cluckles was.

"Take it as a compliment Theo," she said dismissively. "After all, I want what's best for our Marie, and for now that would be studying under your even handed tutelage."

What a load of bullshit. However, to her amazement, Theo straightened up in pride.

"Ahh, yes, of course. I should have seen this sooner. I should not have doubted you."

"As usual," Elizabeth said with a sly smile. Marie was absolutely fascinated. She really had this theo wrapoed around her little finger.

A blue door appeared in front Elizabeth, but she paused as she grabbed the handle.

"Do chickens also require oxygen?" She asked.

Theo considered the question. "Yes, I believe so. Most living things do."

"Unfortunate," she said before disappearing through the doorway.

The room began shifting, furniture sprouting from the ground. She looked to Theo to find him smiling.

"Ahh, it seems my guest is entering the room," he explained. "I am sure they will be more than willing to allow us some time for tutoring, so this is very good for your education. Stand up straight, remain composed, and follow my lead."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, changed my mind, Yosuke isn't Magician. The plot is more interesting this way.
> 
> Thanks so much for all the engagement!


	7. Ripple effects

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the late update, moving turned out to be a real pain. All is good now, so hopefully things should be back to normal.

Chie felt her legs shake beneath her as she took a turn carrying Minato's limp body. It wasn't that he was heavy, in fact he was surprisingly light for his height. And it wasn't that she was exhausted, the entrance to the tv world wasn't that far. 

No, it had everything to do with the fact that she was running off pure adrenaline and was still in fight or flight mode. If the tv world didn't have such weird ambient lighting, she was sure she would have jumped at seeing her own shadow. Her body was starting to shake as the heightened state began to take its toll on her.

After what felt like an eternity, Yosuke was the one to eventually speak. She was thankful, the eerie silence wasn't doing her head space any favors.

"I think we are far enough away we can talk," he said in a hoarse voice. "We should probably discuss plans going forward."

"I think we should discuss that the hell just happened," Chie responded. She shot a glance at Teddie, who chuckled nervously.

"I don't have the slightest idea," the bear said awkwardly. "I know that first thing was a persona, which is a manifestation of a human's psyche. But I don't know what that girl was. And I don't know how he summoned a second one, or even what that big scary thing is. I'd like to help, but it seems I'm just a bear-ified little bear."

"Bearified?" Che repeated in disbelief. He was making puns at a time like this, and even worse bad ones?

"We already went over that," Yosuke said in annoyance, "but we need to figure out what's happening. We can't enter the TV without Minato, and we don't know when he's going to wake up, or even if he will."

Chie's stomach churned. She hadn't even considered that. She had just assumed he'd wake up any time now, that he was just exhausted from… whatever that was. But he was right. They didn't know the rules of this world.

"We need to get Minato professional help," Yukiko agreed. "But whoever leaves can't come back in. This might be the only chance we have in this world, so we need to get all the info we can. Two of us should stay a little longer to gather info."

"Yukiko should stay for sure," Yosuke continued, "since she has a certain way with Teddie, and not to be rude Yukiko, but I don’t think you could carry Minato. I’d also like to stay a little longer. I still haven't learned anything about Saki. Chie, would you be ok with taking him back to our world?"

She blinked. They wanted her to leave? That didn't make sense. She was the one who roundhouse kicked Teddie. She rushed in and saved Minato. She was literally carrying him right now! She was useful! She had proved it!

"Since you two are so close it would make sense for the two of you to be at Junes together as well," Yukiko agreed.

God damn it, she was being brushed off. Again. But they were right, and knew she couldn't argue their points. 

"Yeah, I'll bring him back," she sighed.

They nodded, but Yukiko looked at her a little concerned.

“You know that we would prefer if you stayed right?” She asked. “But Minato needs help. Yosuke would get too many questions from the staff, I can barely carry him anyways. I.. also don’t think I could deal with the paramedics or police right now. But I think you can do it. You’re strong like that.”

Relief rushed through her. Yeah, of course her friends didn’t want to exclude her. They are her friends.

“When you get out of the TV, go with the story you guys were just passing through when he got a headache and collapsed,” Yosuke instructed. “Staff will call an ambulance, and you should be in the clear. You can wait for us in the food court, we might take an hour max. Just tell them whatever you get is on my tab.”

* * *

Yosuke watched Chie and Minato leave the TV world and turned to Yukiko. With a slight motion, they separated themselves from teddie, who only agreed to give the two of them space after a couple pets from Yukiko. She had been giving him glances, trying not to let Chie notice. Luckily Chie seemed shaken enough to not notice Yukiko’s horrible acting.

“Alright,” he said, with crossed arms. “No one can overhear us, except Teddy. Lets hear it.”

Yukiko looked down, lost in thought.

“What if that thing that came out of him was the killer?”

Yosuke blinked. It was a middle ground that made sense and didn’t incriminate anyone. The murders started as soon as he showed up. 

He brought his hand up to his chin as he started to get a mental image of events. He had that thing inside him for some reason, which is why he could enter the TV world. However, for some reason it didn’t start killing until he got to Inaba. But the moment he did, it got to work. It began killing people almost immediately, but only people Minato knew. Yamano was known by everyone, even outside of the town, so it was probably the only resident he knew back when he first arrived. He then got to know the people in his class and Saki.

But, assuming this is all the case, they had questions that needed answering. What was that thing inside him? Why did this all start when he came to Inaba? How were the victims being chosen? 

“Did… I say something too out of line?” Yukiko asked, still shaken herself. 

Yosuke snapped back into reality and shook his head. “It’s a good idea,” he said. “I’m just trying to figure out what all this might mean. Like, why is this happening? Why here? Why now? Why Saki?”

Yukiko bit her lips.

“If you need someone to talk to about that…” she started, but trailed off awkwardly when he shook his head.

“What we are doing now is more important. It could save everyone, and get me the answers I need. After all this, then we can process all we need.”

“And how are we supposed to figure any of this out?”

Yosuke sighed. That was the million dollar question. How could they test any of this? He needed to think. Start from the beginning. What did they have?

He came to Inaba, was staying in the hotel, they all met up…

“The midnight channel,” he said with a snap of his fingers, and Yukiko jumped from his sudden enthusiasm. “We need to test if it only happens in Inaba! If it is only in Inaba, whatever is causing the channel to come one could also be what is causing that thing to kill. And while we are out of town, we can take the time to dig into Minato’s past a little and figure out if things like this have been following him.”

“We?” Yukiko asked in shock. “You want me to leave Inaba?”

He tilted his head a little. “I mean, I can go alone if you’d prefer, but I’d enjoy your company. Probably best if we don’t investigate this alone, one of us might miss something.”

Her eyes widened, but blushed as she nodded. “I’m going to have to ask for some time off, maybe I can do next month-”

I was actually thinking about going tomorrow,” Yosuke jumped in nervously. “Sorry about the short notice, but I figure this is worth skipping a couple days for. We also want to do this while Minato is still in the hospital if possible. If it’s too much of a bother though, I can go with Chie-”

“No! I can do it!” She clarified hastily. She giggled. “I’ve never run away from home before!”

He scratched the back of his neck. He didn’t exactly think about it that way, but maybe she was actually so strung up from work she did. “Alright then, after school tomorrow, we will meet up at the train station. I’ll start some research on his past tonight.”

* * *

Minako stepped through a puddle of blood, lips twisting into a snarl as she lifted her evoker to her head. A sense of overwhelming dread washed over her, but she ignored it.

"Orpheus"

The lyre wielding female form burst from her sea of souls as she pulled the trigger, and with a casual flick of it’s wrist created an explosion of flames that enveloped the shadows. She caught a glimpse of a blue shadow in the corner of her vision. She pulled the trigger again.

"Narcissus"

Orpheus vanished as it was replaced by a golden haired woman who blasted the shadow with a tornado.

More shadows.

"Ares."

Another.

"Loa. Oberon. Lamia."

Sweat dripped from her eyebrows as she rapidly cycled through her persona, each perfectly equipped to kill the next shadow. Yukari had once described her fighting as 'watching the shadows get stuffed into a blender,' a reputation she was quite proud of. She continued fighting until she heard a voice in her head.

"That is enough for now."

The training room returned to normal as the simulated dark hour ended. She lowered her evoker, placing it back into it’s holster and clasped her hands behind her back as Mitsuru and Aigis entered the room.

“It’s impressive how you go from intense to cutesy so quickly,” Mitsuru noted, her long red hair flowing behind her. “We are lucky there are no men in S.E.E.S., otherwise you’d cause infighting.”

“Really?” Minako asked as she giggled. “I think it could be fun to work with some guys.”

“Males typically have higher bone density and fast twitch muscles, and with higher levels of testosterone they make for natural close quarter fighters,” Aigis agreed, “It would most likely be beneficial to add multiple males in order to help support our ranged fighters.”

Mitsuru dismissed them with a wave of the hand. “If the dark hour still existed, I would do so. However, as it stands, we are simply a contingency. There is no reason for more people to be involved in our group. Judging by the fact it hasn’t existed in ten years, even we likely won’t be needed. However, it is never wrong to stay in shape.”

Minako found herself nodding enthusiastically. “Plus, we all got to meet and become friends!”

Mitsuru gave a small smile and nodded. “That is another advantage.”

“Mitsuru,” Aigis asked. “Yukari seems far more hesitant to engage in our bonding rituals. May I ask why that is?”

Her smile slipped a little. “You can ask her if you like, but I don’t think it’s my place to say.”

* * *

Yukari scanned the shelves of the Port Island public library. The section she was in was far from popular, holding records of the island’s short history.

People seemed to just accept the city’s massive expansion in the last ten years, which just happened to start at the exact date of the accident. People just accepted that the Kirijo group fronted billions to build up the city and owned all the politicians. They took it as a simple fact that the accident happened at the exact same time the mostly forgotten apathy syndrome that struck the world vanished. She didn’t.

She took down a book, only to realize that she recognized the cover and returned it. Was she really running out of material? She had only been at it for a year and still didn’t have the truth about what the Kirijo group did. The accident that killed both her and Minako’s parents, and turned the focus of the Kirijo groups’ economic attention to the island. Based on the public tax returns of that year, they had sunk more per year into the area than into America as a whole. For such a powerful conglomerate, that was unheard of. 

She sighed. She thought that joining S.E.E.S. would give her answers. It did to a degree. She knew about persona, the dark hour, and shadows, but it wasn’t enough. The accident seemed to have stopped the dark hour and cured apathy syndrome, but why? How? What about that made one of the most powerful companies focus so much on this specific area?

She heard faint music and turned to the source. A blond kid her age with over-sized headphones seemed to have entered the aisle, browsing the shelf opposite her.

In the past year, she had never seen anyone her age in the section. Curiosity got the best of her, and she poked his shoulder. He jumped in surprise, immediately pulling off his headset.

“Jeeze, don’t scare me like that!” He said in exasperation. “What do you want? Do you just touch every guy you see ten seconds after meeting them?”

She narrowed her eyes at his word choice. “Uuh, more like what are you doing here? Books on how to not be a pathetic coward and jump at the sight of your own shadow are three aisles over. And… Yeah, gross, hair care is in aisle five.”

“Hey look, my hair is-” he shot back, taking the obvious offense she was throwing his way before stopping. “Wait, why do I care what you say at all? Oh yeah, I don’t. So unless you can find some record of ten year old car crashes, you can just leave. Aren’t anorexic ditzes allergic to reading or something anyways?”

She opened her mouth to fire back, but stopped herself.

“Ten year old crashes, why are you looking into that?’

“None of your business,” he said, pulling a book off the shelf.

She smirked. “Dead parents, car crash, ten years ago, something finally came up and it meant more than you thought?”

He looked at her incredulously. “Wait, how-”

“If you are just starting you’re going to want Yomashi’s detailing of Apathy Syndrome, Clarke’s listing of tax returns from japanese based multinational corporations since 1995, make sure you note the Kirijo group, and newspapers from the day after. Now if you can stop being a lil’ shit for ten seconds I can show you where they all are.”

* * *

Marie was on the verge of collapse. She had been worked to the bone, being passed between the other attendants for training without a break.

Margret was subtly condescending, yet incredibly gave concise and clear instructions in what was clearly the most ‘correct’ in all her lessons. Theo was incredibly patient and supportive, but would sometimes hesitate to move onto the next topic. Elizabeth lacked any patience and moved between topics with a ‘sink or swim’ attitude. Lavenza sometimes got lost in thought as she gave lectures, forgetting to actually let her practice, but she was most insistent on Marie finding her own method of attending.

Through the hours, Marie found herself more and more capable. She was occasionally able to practice on Theo’s guest, who was surprisingly tolerant of even her mistakes. Far more so than Minato would have been. He had judged her for even standing wrong.

“That is enough for now,” Elizabeth eventually said after one of their training sessions. “You seem like you may need a break. Would you like me to show you the break room?”

She looked up in shock. “We have a break room?”

“Of course. Would you like to see it?”

Marie barely had the energy to nod, which Elizabeth seemed to find hilarious.

“I remember my own training,” she said dreamily. “My, It almost took me three hours. Two of that was just trying to get me to stand still. What a wonderful time.”

Marie, now used to her unconscious bragging, ignored the comment. It was best to just let her trail off at times like this, else she began some seemingly unrelated rant. Once she was done reminiscing, a door appeared in front of them.

Marie sighed in relief as she opened the door, looking forward to a long deserved nap. However, as she stepped through the door a wave of shouts and music met her.

She blinked in confusion as she looked around the break room. A blindfolded piano player was playing an excessively happy tune as the attendants wore colorful spotted hats. Margaret was giving them a giant grin from a recliner while Theo held up a giant cake that seemed color coded with his apron. Lavenza seemed preoccupied looking under the randomly placed furnishings. 

"What is this?" Marie asked in shock.

"A birthday party of course!" Elizabeth said in excitement, throwing up her arms in exaggeration. "A celebration of our newest attendant's new life! It was difficult, but I slowly managed to get all the necessary features approved by our master. We collected all of the freshest ingredients and Theo baked the cake over an open volcano. We even got our very own chicken to lay fresh eggs! Come forth Ms. Cluckles!"

A small white chicken walked out from behind Margret’s recliner, and Elizabeth clapped her hands in excitement.

“Wonderfully performed Ms. Cluckles! Just as we rehearsed!”

Seeds appeared in her hand and the chicken mindlessly rushed to her as she bent down to feed him. However, Marie was still in shock.

“You made all this for me?”

“But of course,” Elizabeth said dismissively. “You are one of our sisters for the foreseeable future. Giving you a birthday party is the bare minimum for family, no?”

“I hate to say it,” Margret said, folding her hands in her lap, “But she is simply being modest. She used a favor from Theo to make this happen. This was all her.”

Elizabeth failed to hide a blush, and for a moment Marie didn’t see her as an airheaded force of nature, but as a young girl happy her older sister complimented her. She looked across the siblings again, and for the first time, she really saw them. Not as individual godlike teachers, but as a family.

The youngest stood up from looking under things and stomped her way towards the two of them.

“ELIZABETH!” She screamed, frightening Ms. Cluckles away. “WHAT DID YOU DO WITH MORGANA!”

Elizabeth frowned and stood up to look down at her.

“I didn’t do anything with him,” She said curtly. “Where did you put him last?”

“That doesn’t work with animals!” Lavenza shouted.

“She is right, they tend to move on their own” Theo offered, but went silent and gulped as Elizabeth shot him a death glare.

“Regardless, I didn’t touch Morgana,” Elizabeth reiterated, but Lavenza planted her hands on her hips.

“Liar! You always break all my stuff, and make everything about yourself! I heard you say you were going to take care of him so he would mess with Ms. Cluckles! I bet you don’t even care about Morgana!”

For a brief moment Elizabeth seemed legitimately rattled, but she steeled up almost immediately.

“If I was going to lie,” She snapped back, “Maybe I’d say I was worried about Morgana. But to be honest, maybe he was right to run away from you and I should congratulate him.”

An explosion of power erupted from both of them as they stared each other down, but before she could process what was happening Margret and Theo were between them. 

“Lets get your jacket,” Theo said softly, grabbing Lavenza’s hand and pulling her away from the confrontation. “The sooner we find Morgana the better.” She slowly complied, wiping her eyes.

Margret was confidently standing toe to toe with Elizabeth, the power radiating from the two of them both so massive she couldn’t begin to say which was stronger.

“Did you do anything to Morgana?” Margret asked simply.

“No.”

“Are you Lying to me?”

“I swear on our master’s nose.”

They stared each other down a second longer before Margret nodded and they both powered down.

“We need to get looking,” Margret said, to which Elizabeth nodded.

“I’m coming too,” Marie said firmly. They both turned on her in surprise, as if they forgot she existed. 

“You are free to stay and enjoy your cake,” Margret said diplomatically, and Elizabeth nodded in agreement. She was having none of it. She opened a velvet door in front of her, proud to have done it first try.

“You go through all that effort to make me feel like one of you, I might as well start acting like it. The cake can wait.”

* * *

Yu Narukami pushed his way through the crowded streets of Manhattan, barely able to make out some of the more common words on the signs. He checked his map and sighed as he continued his way to school.

He didn't resent his parents for moving to America to take a job opportunity. However, he had to admit he was a little bitter about them taking him along. There had to have been a way for him to stay in Japan. His uncle might have taken him for example, if they hadn't asked him literally days before the move. Sure, he hadn't even met him, but surely anything was better than finishing our high school in a different country with only his parents to talk to.

He felt someone in a black jacket bump into him as they took off down the street. He shook his head, and put his hands in his pockets, only to freeze.

His pockets weren’t empty before.

Before he could think about the right choice, he sprinted after the pickpocket. This couldn’t be happening. Not so soon after moving here. There had to be a misunderstanding. If there wasn’t…. Well, he was a big guy even by American standards.

He was thankful for how in shape he was, as he followed the pickpocket through the streets, often catching just a glimpse of him as he turned corners. People at most moved out of the way. No one offered help. In fact, they seemed amused by the sight.

He finally followed him into an alley, which had boards that made it a dead end. The pickpocket was panting, clearly as tired as he felt. In his left hand he held his wallet, while his right fumbled at his belt.

As Yu stepped forward, the thug suddenly had a gun in hand and was shouting something in english he didn’t understand.

His mind went blank. What kind of a cruel sick joke was this? Was this even real? DId people actually just carry guns around like that in America or did he run into one of new york’s famous gangs?

Before he could act though, a blur dashed at the thug, snatching the wallet from his hand, jumping on a trash can.

The thug said something again and English, and turned his gun to the rogue animal, a slick black cat with a white muzzle. The cat watched him with oddly intelligent eyes, almost daring him to act.

Yu wasted no time, rushing the thug and tackling him to the floor. The two wrestled for dominance, but it was clear that while Yu was stronger, the thug had been in far more fights. In a matter of seconds, the thug was above him, bringing the gun to his head.

Again the black cat interfered, pouncing the hand with a gun, causing the shot to hit the concrete next to Yu’s head and ricochet into his thug’s own shoulder. He screamed in pain, as people outside the alley finally paid attention. Yu took the opportunity to push the thug off him and grab his wallet before rushing out of the alley. His new cat companion was on his shoulder immediately.

After running several blocks, he slumped into the first chair he found and the cat jumped from his shoulder into his lap. A simple glance around told him he was completely lost as his adrenaline began wearing off.

A waitress with thigh high black and white stripe stockings and a messenger bag came by, dropping off a menu, and it was only then he noticed he had sat in an outside cafe that he had never seen before.

“Cool cat,” the waitress said in perfect Japanese, “if he wants something it’s on the house.”

Yu quickly thanked her before looking at the menu. He narrowed his eyes in frustration at not being able to read the English, but the cat pawed at one of the menu items.

“Is that what you want?” He asked, to which the cat nodded it’s head enthusiastically. The waitress sighed and adjusted her blue hat as she walked off. 

“Really? A california roll? Jeeze, I thought you were cool…” she muttered to herself.

“Don’t listen to her,” He said, causing the recipient of the complement to begin purring. “Getting you some… ‘california rolls' is the least I can do as a thank you for saving me. What should I name you?”

The cat narrowed it’s eyes at him, but before anything else could be done a plate was slid in front of them. However, along with the food, six shimmering blue butterflies were on the plate.

“Don’t mind them, they’re just checking you out,” the waitress said with a shrug before walking off.

The cat seemed almost hypnotized by the butterflies, but began devouring the sushi with a little coaxing. One by one, the butterflies left, seeming to fly a short distance away before vanishing.

“So then cat, you have a place to stay?” Yu asked as the cat finished his meal, “Or you wanna tag along with me?”

The cat looked up at him, and jumped onto his shoulder, diving into his backpack. He dragged out a pencil and paper, writing something in Kanji, folding the letter nicely and placing it in his hand before diving back into the backpack.

* My name is Morgana. I guess I can stick around for a while. Oh and I’m not a cat.*

* * *

Yosuke used his left hand to turn the page to his book so he didn’t wake up Yukiko, who was using his shoulder as a pillow for the duration of the train ride.

It didn’t seem real to him if he was being honest. They had left as acquaintances, and just two days later they were returning to Inaba best friends. They had stayed up late into the night talking in an inn, waiting to see if the midnight channel came on. They had talked about everything and nothing. School. Parents. Saki. Chie. Who they were. Who they weren’t. He wasn’t sure he’d dove that deep into any conversation before, and it was like he was living in a different world.

This was what people fought for. He had a crush on Saki, but he hadn’t even known her in reality. No, as much as it hurt, she had been just a pretty girl he wanted to know. Someone who had shown him basic decency and he latched onto. Her passing had been tragic, but he had been milking her death’s importance as an excuse to get involved in the investigation. He had no righteous goal. In fact, it was a selfish desire to be the hero.

Yukiko snored quietly, and he chuckled. She hadn’t fully dropped her walls yet, but that was ok. They would have a long time to work on that, and he knew even this much was a huge step for her. He hoped this would turn into being more than friends, but even if it didn’t he felt there was something special between them at this point. It would only be a matter of time before she saw him as someone important to her, like she did Chie.

Minato hadn’t woken up yet. The midnight channel didn’t exist outside of Inaba. No one else had shown up on the channel. Things weren’t perfect, but he didn’t think they ever would be. Given what had happened up until now, he thought things were as good as they could be.

* * *

Yukiko burst through her front door as she sprinted to her room.

Yosuke and Chie saw her last night on the midnight channel. She was slated to die.

As she entered she pulled out a notebook and spilt papers across her otherwise spotless room as she grabbed a pen. She ignored the phone buzzing in her pocket.

_Yukiko’s Will_ she wrote across the top, but her hand trembled as she hovered over the next line.

_Chie - Gets anything she wants that I own_ she wrote in scribbles so shaky she didn’t recognize her own handwriting. However she moved on.

_ Mom and dad - Everything not listed _

_ Yosuke -  _

Her chest trembled. Wouldn’t it be funny if she lived and read this later? Wouldn’t it be the best joke in the world to read this as she packed up to move away with a fantastic husband and this entire fiasco turned out to be a paranoid delusion? That the murders up until now were just suicides. That she was safe.

Why couldn’t she laugh at the joke?

Her shaky hands moved across the paper as she began listing the first thing she could think of to everyone who mattered. Some things were meaningful. Some things were spiteful. Some things were because the person expressed interest in something she had and didn’t think Chie would want them.

How long did they have? How many letters could she write? Could she say everything she needed to?

She was going to find out.

* * *

As Minato left the velvet room, he found himself waking in a hospital bed. It seemed like a nice place, with the walls being a hard to maintain shade of white. He looked down to find his arm was a pincushion of IVs and a variety of sensors were attached to his bare chest. Surprisingly, it seemed he had visitors.

Chie had stolen his side table and was using it as a desk for her math homework, while Yosuke was reading a book on business mergers and splits over the last twenty years. The later surprised him. He hadn't assumed him to be interested in anything of the sort.

"How long was I out?" He asked, causing them both to jump up in shock. He couldn't help but be similarly shocked by their appearances.

It was apparent neither had slept in days, and they both looked like they'd seen a ghost.

"I told you!" Chie shouted at Yosuke who ignored her and narrowed his eyes at him.

"You've been out for over two weeks. How ya feeling?" he asked.

Minato raised a hand, clenching his fist a couple times to test his strength.

"I feel fine." He said honestly.

"Think you can walk out of here?" Yosuke pressed. "Because a lot has happened and we need back in the TV as soon as possible."

"Yukiko showed up on the midnight channel," Chie explained frantically. "She got thrown in. But none of us could go in without you, so all we could do is wait. That was a week ago. The fog will come in three days."

He nodded, and began pulling the IVs out of his arm.

"Wait, you don't have to-" Chie began, but went quiet as he pulled the monitors off his chest and stood up. The world began spinning as he felt his knees buckle, but he caught himself on the nightstand. Yosuke was immediately there to help him steady himself.

"Dude, you just woke up from a coma," he scolded. "Plus, you just caused the heart monitor to flatline, so nurses are coming. We have to continue later in private."

As if on cue, a black haired nurse rushed into the room. She was shocked for only a split second before shouting in rage.

"Out, both of you!"

Yosuke and Chie fled from her wrath, while she forced him back onto the bed.

"You wake up in a hospital bed and the first thing you do is stand up?" She raged as she checked his pulse and began reaching through drawers.

"Tell me, do you have a headache?"

"No, just dizziness."

"Obviously, you've been living off an IV. What year is it?"

"2008"

"Good, what color are my eyes?"

"Brown."

"Good. Can you count backwards from thirty?"

As he did so, she flashed a light across his face and began reattaching the sensors.

"Good," she continued as he finished. She held up her name tag. "Can you read this?"

"Sayoko Uehara."

"Good. What are the names of your friends who were just here?"

"Chie and Yosuke."

"Excellent. Can you tell me the last thing you remember?"

He hesitated. He didn't have time to get his story consistent with the other's. He decided to take a safe route.

"Being at Junes and getting a really bad headache."

She frowned. "Were you conscious during your time here?"

"No."

"Were you dreaming of anything?"

He hesitated again. She raised an eyebrow.

"A girl." She giggled mischievously.

"CAT scans showed brain activity like you were listening to a symphony and watching beautiful women," she explained. "It's good there is such an easy answer as dreaming. If your brain was just going haywire we'd be having some serious problems. Since you can remember it, it means you are forming new memories since the incident. You can also read, speak, see color, count, your reflexes seem functioning, and you even stood up on your own. It somehow looks like you might walk away from this without any immediately evident lasting effects."

She leaned forward and sternly met his eyes. "However, a coma is one of the most serious medical conditions possible. Don't think you are in the clear. We need to learn exactly what happened. No standing up until we run more tests, got it?"

When he nodded, she stood back up with a satisfied smile. "Good, then I will get a doctor to run some more tests so you can talk to your friends. The girl has been here every day you know, and that boy even went as far as to try to track down people you know to tell them what happened."

Minato raised an eyebrow. Yosuke knew he didn't have family.

"Is that so?" He asked in what he hoped was a neutral tone. Sayoko nodded as she began re-inserting the IVs. He naturally didn’t wince in the slightest.

"Yup. Just a couple simple country kids. But country kids have their uses."

He ignored the comment. “When can I walk out of here?”

She stood up from his bed, and read his vitals before nodding one final time.

“The doctor should be here within the hour, he is currently seeing an appointment. Try not to kill yourself in that time. If you pass tests, we can talk about getting you out of here in a couple weeks.”

Minato nodded silently.

“Can I have a TV moved into my room?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, quick notes on what I manually changed:  
> 1) Ages so characters between 3/4 can interact and be interchangeable  
> 2) Yu's parents didn't get Dojima to take care of him so he went overseas with his parents  
> 3) One event you can probably guess but is actually a spoiler.
> 
> Everything else is more of a consequence of those three things. No, the events of persona 3 haven't happened. Hopefully it isn't too out there for those of you who started reading when it was just a simple retelling, but if it is, thank you so much for your support up until this point and I wish you well going forward. Hopefully whatever I write next will be more what you were looking for ^_^
> 
> For those of you who do feel like sticking around for future chapters, glad to hear it, thanks for sticking around through the hiatus, and I'd love to hear your thoughts and theories! I'll probably respond to comments again, because upon further consideration I think I was just being silly before.


	8. Chie's true self (pt 1)

Dojima yawned as he sipped his coffee. It was early and the hospital waiting room was empty save him and his partner, so he was letting his mind wander. How did his life become such a disaster?

The case was going nowhere, autopsy turned up nothing, their primary suspects had solid alibi, the higher ups demanded progress to settle the unrest, the Amagi girl just up and disappeared while leaving behind what seemed like suicide notes, Adachi seemed to be purposefully incompetent and getting dumber, his sister was trying to get him to watch his nephew for a full year, Nanako needed new shoes and god knows she took hours to decide, bills were due, he's missed garbage pick up twice now…

He took another sip. One step at a time.

"Detectives Dojima and Tohru?" A nurse called out.

He downed his coffee with a sigh and ended his mental vacation. This Minato kid was the biggest unknown they had. He showed up nearly the day of the first murder. He was apparently acquainted with the second victim. He was staying at the Amagi in, and had socialized with her. Any one of these things was suspicious. All together were telling.

After brief pleasantries with the nurse he followed her through the hospital to the Minato's room.

It was possible he had survived being targeted by the killer. The victims had no apparent cause of death, so one of the most logical explanations was a new drug they couldn't detect yet. The boy had fallen into an unexplained coma that had properties they hadn't seen before. 

After throwing it to the larger medical community, the most consistent response he had gotten actually came from a med school student. They suggested his body was fighting off some sort of pathogen, and the coma was a self-induced shutdown rather than a brain injury or neurological damage. He was no medical expert, but this was backed up by him retaining several bodily functions and reflexes not seen in typical comas and fit his theory perfectly.

Minato could have gotten a lower dosage of the mystery drug, or perhaps some part of his body's chemistry had resisted it better. The important part though was he was now awake.

"His room is 207, at the end if the hall," the nurse said once the room was in sight. He nodded and continued to follow.

He doubted Minato was the killer. Sure, his background check pointed to him having the skills to pull it off, and he had the opportunity, but there was no motive. Coming to the town was just his most recent move in a long line of relocations, none of which he had problems with. He didn't have time to build up resentment for anyone. He also had stacks of medical and psychological examinations, a result of being his adoption agency's golden child, with the only identifiable irregularity being depression and a general lack of motivation. Not only was his criminal record spotless, it is highly doubtful he was even aware of Yamano's location. To top it off, if the Amagi girl's disappearance was connected at all he was in a coma during those events, giving him an airtight alibi. 

The nurse opened the door for him, and he felt a chill. The bed was empty. The window was open.

Before the nurse had even taken in the scene, he had sprung into action. He rushed to the window, sighing in relief when he realized that Minato hadn't jumped. Adachi was far less useful, immediately asking the nurse who moved the TV in.

It was a good question, and a good observation that it was the only room with a TV of its size, but his priorities were all out of wack. He had a lot to learn.

"Adachi," He barked, "Stop your jibber-jabber and get looking for him!"

Adachi jumped in surprise and gave a quick apology before taking off down the hall at a near sprint.

Was this Minato just an idiot or did the killer come back for round two? Regardless, he was in terrible danger, especially as weak as he was, and needed to be found asap.

* * *

Minato gracefully landed in the TV world. He embraced the feel of the fog filling his lungs. Outside his muscles might have atrophied, but in here he felt like his true self.

Chie and Yosuke were at the ready, watching him with determination. 

“Are you sure you are ready to come along?” He asked them, already knowing their answer. “You might slow me down.”

“Fat chance you’re leaving me behind,” Chie scoffed.

“You might be able to keep me away if you killed me,” Yosuke agreed.

He nearly smiled. This was the investigation team he wanted. He nodded to the oversized backpack Chie had. She swung it off her back and began distributing things.

“I got everything off the list we made, but you guys better pay me back” She warned as she pulled out a sheathed shortsword and tossed it to him. He caught it easily and began attaching it to his waist.

“Not a problem,” Yosuke responded as he began playing with a pair of kunai she passed over. “Damn, these are nice. How much were they?”

“You better pay me back,” she repeated as she knelt down to strap a spike to the end of her shoe. He had suggested she think of a more practical weapon, but she was insistent that the best thing she could do was kick things. It was an argument he gave up without much fight. Realistically, they weren’t going to be much help against the shadows without a persona, and by the time he could teach her how to use a sword effectively Yukiko would be dead. 

“You came back!” a voice called out. They turned towards the source to see Teddie running at them in near tears. “I thought I was going to have to save Yukiko on my own!”

“You had time to,” Minato pointed out, causing a glaire to get sent his way.

“You weren’t exactly charging in head first,” Teddie snapped. “Poor Yukiko is all alone in that dangerous place, just waiting for her handsome prince charming to save her!”

Minato raised an eyebrow at the jab. However, it was Chie who spoke up.

“He actually did,” She snapped. “And Yukiko doesn’t need any prince charming. That’s what we are for. Now get out of our way if you don’t have anything to contribute.”

“Hey now,” Yosuke interrupted. “We need Teddie to help us find Yukiko, Chie just got us all the weapons we need, I'm the brains, and Minato is the brawns. Everyone is contributing. So lets cut the crap.”

“Yosuke is right,” Minato agreed, silencing any opposition with a glare. “Teddie can you lead the way for us?”

Teddie begrudgingly agreed, and the walk began. Teddie passed out glasses that helped them see through the fog, which Minato was thankful for. The others could stay farther back from him and the shadows without being out of sight. However, the tense atmosphere stopped more than a mere thank you, a fact Teddie seemed put off by. However, he didn't voice any complaints he had.

Most of the small talk they did have was sharing information directly relating to their current objective. Yukiko had appeared on the midnight channel while she was still in the real world, although for some reason they were hesitating telling him exactly what they saw. He felt somewhat cheated, but it was what it was.

The paths they took began to blur together, and he was becoming more and more thankful that Teddie was leading the way. Every time he came to the TV world he became more and more disoriented. Places that were next to each other in previous ventures were now distant, and it took significantly more time to reach the apartments than he remembered. It seemed the entire TV world was shifting around them.

Despite his awareness of the world's irregularities though, he wasn't at all prepared for when they finally reached their destination.

"A castle?" He asked his teammates, when they reached what looked like a giant medieval fortress. They shifted uncomfortably and refused to explain. The TV world up until this point had been mostly made of things you could have seen in Inaba, so this was horribly out of place. Even without context about what it was, he could feel the chaos of the TV world seemed in focus around the structure.

"Ready?" He asked, beginning the walk to the front door.

"Does anything phase that guy?" He heard Yosuke grumble behind him, a sentiment he ignored. If they were going in anyways, worrying would be counterproductive at best.

As he approached the castle doors, however, they burst open in front of them, and what seemed to be a mounted phantom knight rushed him.

He wasted no time as tarot cards appeared in front of him, drawing his sword and shattering a card in one smooth motion.

“Valkyrie”

A mounted knight of his own emerged, clashing with what he could only assume to be a shadow. Valkyrie’s double blades struggled against it’s opponent’s lance, slowing down the creature long enough for Minato to rush in himself.

“No, wait!” he heard Yosuke shout, causing him to turn in surprise. Chie was rushing past the fight into the castle, but before he could react properly the shadow overpowered his persona and he was forced to begin dodging it's lance.

He scoffed in frustration, having Valkyrie clash with the shadow again so he had space to back up and reassess.

He could easily get around it, but that would leave the others defenseless. He also ran the risk of being surrounded if it gave chase and they ran into another enemy. Beating it here was the only viable option.

He swapped persona to Izanagi and had it fire off lightning strikes as he charged in. Chie would just have to handle herself for the time being.

* * *

_ She said that red looks good on me... _

"Yukiko!" Chie screamed as she ran through the halls. However, there was only the sound of her bladed shoes on the marble floors. That and the voice in her head.

_ I hated my name… Yukiko… "Snow"… Snow is cold and it melts quickly… Its transient… worthless… But it's perfect for me. Apart from inheriting the inn I'm worthless… Still… Chie told me red looks good on me. _

She felt herself choking up. What other response could you possibly have to hearing this? She was aware of creatures looking at her from rooms in the castle but ignored them. They didn't matter.

_ Chie was the only one to give my life meaning. She's so bright and strong and can do anything. She had everything I don't. Compared to her i'm… i'm… Chie protects me... She looks after my worthless life... And I don't deserve any of it… Chie is so kind... _

"YUKIKO!" She screamed at the top of her lungs, throwing open a door to what seemed like a ball room. She had no idea. This wasn't at all how she thought things were. The idea that she meant this much to Yukiko…

"It feels good doesn't it?"

A chill ran down her spine as she stopped in the middle of the ballroom. That voice…

She turned around slowly, feeling her breathing become shallow as a pit formed in her stomach.

A figure in a green jacket laughed as it closed the door she had entered in. It dropped its hands into its pockets and calmly made its way towards her. It's piercing yellow eyes seemed to gaze into her soul, deconstructing her.

Dread seeped farther into her with each step the thing took. She tried to avert her eyes, but even if she could move her body there was a morbid fascination she couldn't place.

The thing looked exactly like her. It wasn't similar in the way a detailed manakin was, more like it had stepped out from a mirror. But there was no mirror. And she did not have a sadistic grin on her.

"Doesn't what feel good?" She asked before she realized. The figure laughed.

"You don't have to play dumb with me," it said, lips twisted into a crazed smile she had never imagined her face was capable of making. "Hearing how Yukiko thinks you are the only reason for living… ugh, it's like injecting liquid orgasm pleasure into your veins."

Chie took a step back in horror. However, she quickly planted her feet to not give ground.

"I don't know what you are," she said firmly, "But you are impersonating the wrong person to be saying things like that. I would never dream of wanting Yukiko hurt!"

The imposter let out a full laugh. "That's hilarious! After all, isn't Yukiko admitting that you're better exactly what you've always fantasized about?"

Chie felt her body go numb. There was no possible way those words were said in that order. The thing proceeded towards her.

"Jeeze, what a loser," the imposter mocked. "Not only do you have to tear down the only one who gives a shit about you to feel good about yourself, but you are also so pathetic that hearing about makes you freeze up."

"Shut up, I-I would never tear her down," she argued, but was shocked by how unconvincing she sounded.

"Isn't it weird how she's never had a boyfriend?" The clone asked, finger innocently tapping her chin. She laughed. "Oh, that one is my favorite. Its so innocent. But it also poisons her image so potential guys think there is something wrong with her, all while reminding her that I have achieved something she couldn't. And, most importantly, it makes sure she knows I am the only one to love her. After all, that is what I live for."

"Why would you lie like that?" She whimpered. The creature was now just a few feet away from her, seemingly feeding off her negative energy.

"Lie? I dont need to. After all, you are nothing but a stupid, ugly, untalented hick stuck in a garbage heap of a town in the middle of bum-fuck nowhere. You are one of the most insignificant people to grace the face of the earth. You've never won a single thing in your life. You've never made a difference in anyone's life. And even if you did, it would just be the life of a no-good hick like yourself."

"Shut up," was the only response she could give as she felt her eyes water. She held her hands over her ears and slumped to the ground. However, the copy pulled away her hands, staring her down point blank.

"The only one in this town who is worth anything is Yukiko. And she's everything you wish you could be. She keeps the town alive with her charm. People in cities write articles about how beautiful she is. Boys throw themselves at her. She is someone who has done something. She is someone who matters. And if someone like her thinks I matter, that means I do. And that's the only purpose someone like me can have. If I need to, I'll break her kneecaps to make sure she needs me to carry her and attribute all her meaning to me."

"You know nothing about me!" She screamed as loud as she could. The copy laughed as it's voice became layered and distorted. 

"I AM you."

The doors were suddenly flung open as Minato, Yosuke, and Teddie charged in, shouting her name. Panic shot through Chie.

"Don't come any closer!" She screamed at them, stopping them in their tracks. "Nothing she says is true! It's all a lie! Get out while you can!"

The boys looked at her in confusion, but readied themselves as the imposter stood up, malicious smile back to the forefront.

"Well look who it is, my favorite lackey and my newest project," it said, voice back to normal.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Yosuke demanded as Minato watched everything in silence.

"No!" She screamed, "don't talk to it!" However, the clone happily answered.

"Haha, oh Yosuke, you have to realize the nature of our relationship by now," she teased. "In exchange for my validation, you give me things. Things I'm to stupid and lazy to get for myself. Good food, new movies, and nice looking guy to be around to make Yukiko jealous. All without even having to date you. Man what a catch of a friend you were. Imagine someone as rich and successful as you being so easy to wrap around my little finger. If you had any standards you'd drop me like the dead weight I am. But with you being so sad and lonely, even someone as pathetic as me could become important to you."

Chie's heart stopped. Her life was over. Yosuke didn't seem to know how to respond. All she could do was incoherently beg the copy to stop in between her sobs. Yosuke started to move towards her, but Minato caught him by the collar. The creature than turned its eyes to the worst person imaginable.

"Ah, Minato," she said dreamily. "You are who I've been waiting for my entire life. Someone the world seems to revolve around. Someone so perfect that they can do anything. Someone to choose me over Yukiko. Someone who is such a sorry excuse for a human being that they have so little in their life they might rely on someone like me."

"No! She's lying!" She screeched.

"Oh, than what are you hanging around for?" The copy demanded. "His gorgeous smile? His charming laugh? The deep conversations? What a joke. There is nothing about HIM that you like. All you see in him is the ultimate way to validate yourself."

She looked helplessly to Minato, who was taking all this in with a blank face. Somehow, that was the worst possible reaction. She needed something. Anger. Hatred. Betrayal. Anything. The clone seemed equally determined to get a reaction out of him.

"I'll make you smile," it said as cutesy as it could. "I'll be your little manic pixie dream girl. I'll pretend to be whatever you want. Ill show up by your hospital bed. Anything to get you tangled up in my webs. As long as when you go out to be reality's protagonist you know deep inside that you could only do it because of me. I need to be the only thing that makes you smile. I need to be the only thing that you see as valuable. That way everything you do you 'couldn't have done without me'. Every success you have is my success. I get to steal your agency. All the meaning in your life becomes mine by proxy. The world you are destined to take by storm will become mine. And it all boils down to one mistake you made."

The clone locked eyes with the still expressionless Minato. "You were wrong to choose me over Yukiko."

That was the final slap across the face. With every ounce of her being she shouted as loudly as she could. 

"Shut up! You aren't me!"

The clone laughed. "Took you long enough to say that."

Black ooze exploded from the clone, plunging the room into darkness. Chie watched in stunned silence as ice formed into crystallized skulls, which in turn coalesced into a throne. She was distantly aware that one of the boys were pulling her away from the monster.

There was no way that was her. However, as a queenly figure materialized on the throne of skulls, she still felt like she was looking into a mirror. Her crown laced with faces screaming in agony was something she saw every morning. The tears frozen to the side of her cheek was something she felt every time she closed her eyes. The pale blue frostbitten skin she felt even now.

But she wasn't anything like that. She couldn't be.

"I am a shadow, the true self," the demon declared in it's distorted voice. "Bow down before me before I show you how deep hell can go."

"Asparas"

She was distantly aware of a shape materializing between her and the demon, blocking a gust of frozen air. If the thing really was her… maybe she was better off frozen solid and tucked away where no one could see her. Hidden away from the light of day. Somewhere she couldn't hurt people. Everything would be so much simpler. 

She felt a gentle tap on her head. She looked up to see Minato standing above her.

"Blue," he said calmly. She blinked in confusion. "Her feet are blue," he explained. "I think that counts as blue shoes right? That means I get to hit you. We never stopped playing right?"

She felt herself break down. "You idiot," she sniffled. "How can you say that after what you just heard?"

He shrugged as he moved forward towards the shadow. Yosuke and Teddie moved in front of her as well, shielding her from the upcoming fight.

"I heard that's what friends do," He said as tarot cards appeared in front of him. "I figured I might as well give it a try."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Huge shout out to the anonymous commenter who suggested swapping persona to greco-roman. Not only am I way more familiar with that pantheon, it gave me an excuse to change their persona to something that more matches their new arc and role in the story.
> 
> Also, I just made a poll to help decide main pairing, because I'm still undecided and want some input on what you guys want to see. Also, polls are fun.
> 
> Thanks for reading, I'm having a ton of fun writing this, and all feedback is welcome!


	9. Chie's true self (pt 2)

Focus on the fight.

He didn't know how to handle Chie. He didn't know what the fallout between them would be after this. He didn't know if what he had said to her had helped.

He did know how to kill though.  All he had to do was focus purely on the enemy in front of him. Everything else would come later.

The shadow was a blue tinted woman on a throne of ice skulls, and had fired off an ice attack already. Her morbid crown pointed to dark attacks as well. He had a pretty good idea of what he was getting himself into, but he would have to fight carefully until he was sure.

"Valkyrie"

He rushed the laughing shadow with his persona, following close behind. Valkyrie’s blades flashed towards the shadow’s neck, but the shadow simply caught both the blades between her fingers before releasing a frost breath that made his persona shatter.

Minato stumbled as he felt the pain transfer, and felt his followup attack land on her throne instead of her. Ice immediately began creeping up his sword, but be let go of it before it reached his hand. Horribly aware he was now without persona or weapon he jumped backwards. 

"Come on protagonist," the shadow laughed. "Is that all you can do?"

Purple runes appeared beneath him, and he summoned his tarot cards again.

"Ghoul"

The dark energy released from the runes harmlessly flowed off him as he caught his breath and summoned the cards again.

He couldn't afford to let this drag on. He was already tired from the knight outside, and this shadow was clearly far more dangerous. 

"Orpheus"

Flames erupted as his persona strummed his lyre, causing the shadow to shriek. More importantly, he heard his sword clang to the ground. He rushed it, grabbing the sword before she could recover, driving it through both her legs and into the throne, freezing it in place.

She screeched in pain, and he felt the world spin as she backhanded him away. It was like being hit by a semi, and he felt himself leave the ground and cover at least twenty feet before crashing into the ground. 

"How dare you!" The shadow screeched, sending another ice attack his way. He summoned the cards, but pain shot through his left arm as he tried to shatter it. Sharp panic ran through him, but he quashed it. He didn’t have time to worry about a broken arm.

He barely had enough time to crush Asparas's card with his right arm, dulling the cold just as the worst of it hit him.. He began making his way to his feet, icicles forming on him. He ignored the pain as he allowed his arm to hang limp.

He didn't need it. 

“Orpheus”

He felt a sadistic smile creep onto his face as he rushed forward, ripping an icicle from his clothes to use as a weapon. She sent a flurry of ice spears at him, which he either avoided or swatted out of the air. Before she could fire off a second volly, she was engulfed in flames with a strum of Orpheus’ lyre.

As soon as the flames died out, he was on her. He drove the icicle into her eye, causing a deafening howl to ring through the room. Again, she flailed, trying to catch him with her wild swinging, but he had already learned his lesson. He ducked beneath the swings, ripping his sword from her legs and catching one of her arms on the inside of her elbow.

If she had been human, the sliced tendon would have detached the muscles and rendered the entire arm useless. However, he was made brutally aware that Shadows didn’t have muscles as the slashed arm caught his broken limb. His eyes began watering as he felt himself get pulled towards her, and let out a scream as she kicked his now stretched out arm.

He felt his now snapped bone rip through his skin, and knew he had no choice. Pain erupted all across his body as both of them were engulfed in flames by Orpheus. However, the gamble paid off as managed to use her loosened grip to pull his arm away.

He stumbled backwards, vividly aware of the blood dripping from his sleeve. He was getting light headed, but nothing he couldn’t fight through. He hoped.

Regardless, one way or another, his next assault would be his last.

"Look at you!" The shadow hissed. "So determined. So capable. So important. Even when I am this much better than you, you still find a way to steal the show. I've had enough of it! I won't be part of the background! I won't be someone people can just toss aside! I will make the world revolve around ME! Now is the time to become important! If I kill you now, I can-"

"That's enough!"

The two were snapped out of their dual as Chie began walking between them. 

"Even now you're protecting him?" The shadow laughed, but Chie shook her head.

"No... I'm protecting you. Or-Well, me. Because if you do this, if we do this, this is a line we can't uncross. Minato is a friend. And so are Yukiko and Yosuke. And yeah, I care what they think of me. And I know I'm not as smart or as pretty, or… really anything. I can't live up to them." She shook her head in disappointment. Minato watched for danger as the shadow simply examined her. However, he felt the tension in the room dissipating. 

"I got scared they would look down on me and leave me,” She admitted. “I was also scared that I wouldn't make anything of my life. No… That’s not right. I’m still terrified of that. Really, I'm terrified of a lot of things. I kept trying to find ways to one up my own friends, the people I respect most in my life, just to justify myself. And… yeah, I admit it, I wasn't always nice or fair about it. And I feel horrible about it, and I have a long way to go before I make up for it. 

"However, you are me, and there was always a line. This fight is too much. I've been petty, hurtful, and more than a little bitter and jealous. But I've always cared about my friends. And one upping them doesn't mean anything if I lose myself along the way. I know the feelings are there, they probably always will be. But they don’t have to control me. They don’t have to control us."

The shadow nodded gently. The skulls making up her throne melted into a puddle, and she began making her way towards her other half. Flowers bloomed beneath her feet with every step, and her crown morphed into a tiara. Her skin warmed from a deep blue to a comforting orange.

“Is this… also a part of me?” Chie asked in awe. The figure nodded. Chie smiled. “My own persona… Persephone.”

The persona reverted into an orb and entered her chest, an act she didn’t fight. She began glowing, and smiled warmly before collapsing onto the ground.

“Chie!” Yosuke shouted, rushing to her side. Teddie was on the side staring at Minato. He stared back. What was the bear’s problem with him? It couldn’t still be the stupid scent thing could it?

“She’s ok,” Yosuke announced, “Just exhausted. You though... ” He winced as he saw the blood pooling beneath his arm. “Are... you going to be alright?”

Minato nodded, suddenly aware of how heavy his clothes were. Not only from exhaustion, but from the waterlogging that came from the melted ice. He felt like collapsing himself, but Yosuke was already going to carry Chie. After all his arm…

He winced as the pain once again shot through his arm. The blood running down it felt like liquid fire. This was an issue. It needed to be fixed. Now. Their adventuring for the day might be cut short, but there was no way he could slip past the nurses again if he suddenly had a destroyed arm.

None of his persona could heal this. He needed something more. He needed to be able to return tomorrow. They were out of time. He crushed a card, summoning Asparas. It wasn’t enough. He reached deep inside him, trying to pull something, anything out of himself.

He was distantly aware of Yosuke shouting his name, but that wasn’t important. He felt wind rushing by him. He needed more. 

“You need my help again?”

He was no longer in the ballroom. Or really anywhere. Around him was nothing but darkness within a vast sea of toiling consciousness. He turned to see Pharos.

“You’re a needy one you know,” He said with his head tilted playfully. “But I suppose I lose nothing by helping you.”

A gun appeared in the boy’s hand. Fear rushed through Minato as the barrel was pointed between his eyes. He closed his eyes in preparation.

“Haha, I won’t help that much.” Minato opened his eyes in shock, only to feel an ominous aura radiating from the boy. There was no playfulness. There was no hatred. No fear. No encouragement. No discouragement. His eyes were lifeless. And in his hand, he held the gun by the barrel, grip pointed to him.

A shiver ran down his spine. This was absurd. However, he somehow knew that the boy wouldn’t put him to this if he didn’t need to. He reached for the gun, but the boy pulled it away.

“Wrong hand.”

Minato looked down at his broken arm, then at the gun. He exhaled slightly, and began to move.

His entire consciousness was plunged into pain. He felt himself screaming as his limb inched forward. The more it did, the more he heard himself screaming. Pharos was watching without sound or motion. A silent judge in his struggle. Eventually even that faded from his consciousness as the pain grew worse. He felt tears rolling down his cheeks, and his chest convulsing with his sobs.

But he fought on.

* * *

Yosuke covered Chie’s head as the winds blew through the ballroom. Minato was doing it again. Blue energy was radiating off him, as he stood stiff as a board, lips curled into a smile.

He had already stopped shouting his name. It was useless.

“We have to leave!” Teddy shouted, earning one of his glares. The bear was right, but he didn’t care. Minato couldn’t be comatose again. They needed to get back into the TV as many times as needed to save Yukiko. Although…

He looked down at Chie, who was in his arms still. Now that she had a persona, could she enter the TV on her own? If so... 

Realization hit him. They could just leave Minato. No, they might have to leave Minato. They had already carried him back once, and it looked like he was going to be in the same state. Teddie was incapable of carrying anyone, and he couldn’t carry both him and Chie. He would have to choose.

His mind was in overdrive. Chie was definitely not the killer. Minato was still in the running, if unlikely. Minato could definitely get back into the TV, Chie might be able to. Chie cared about what happened to Inaba. Minato didn’t. Minato was a force of nature. Chie might not even be able to summon her persona. Minato might be crippled, while Chie was just tired. If Chie died now Inaba would be turned upside down. If Minato died, they could blame it on the coma’s lasting effects.

He felt his stomach plummet as he realized what just ran through his head. The stress must be getting to him. He hoped it was the stress.

The reality around Minato's head seemed to shatter as the sound of a gunshot rang through the ballroom. His head snapped backwards as if he was shot. He stumbled backwards, barely catching himself. However, the fractured reality coalesced into a second persona.

It was similar to Orpheus, but not quite. Between the orange torso and long ginger hair, it seemed far more feminine. 

"Cadenza," Minato said in a raspy breath, as if he had run back to back marathons. However, the two persona ignored his exhaustion. Orpheus pulled her lyre into a playing position while Asparas began dancing.

The only way he could describe it was the sound of tranquility. A divine melody filled the ballroom, resonating so perfectly he was half convinced the floor and walls were singing along. Asparas swayed perfectly with the ebbs and flows of the music, seeming to paint a never ending picture with her movements.

Chie woke up with a gasp, as if new life had flown into her. He barely noticed, too transfixed by the performance. She sat up, immediately absorbed. Spiraling white energy began flowing around Minato's arm, his face never wavering from painful determination.

As the song ended abruptly, both the persona shattered and Minato slid both of his hands into his pockets.

"Teddie, are you ready to get us out?" He asked. "Going on in our current state would be dangerous. We can continue tomorrow."

"Hold up," Yosuke shouted, standing to face him. "Don't you owe us at least a slight explanation of what the hell just happened?"

Minato shrugged. "Probably. But I'm not sure myself."

"Bullshit!" Yosuke shot back, "You expect us to believe you have seven persona, can summon two at once, and just did whatever the hell that was, and still have no idea what's going on? All while being that nonchalant? No one in their right mind would believe that!"

Minato looked at him expressionlessly.

"Chie, how did you know your persona’s name?" He asked.

She blinked. She then furrowed her brows. "Wait, how did I know that?"

"Summon her."

She blinked and stood up. A tarot card appeared in front of her, and after she shattered it Persephone reappeared briefly before going back into her. She never needed any instructions.

"I don't know what is going on," Minato admitted, "but these powers are entirely intuitive. It's impossible to describe. I don't know why I'm the one with these powers but I have them. However, if Chie can awaken them, you can too. If we are going to rescue Yukiko, we’ll have the best chance if you are with us. We have two days left. Tomorrow we get you a persona. The day after, we save Yukiko. From there we figure out what the midnight channel is, who the murderer is, and what these powers are. But we have to stay focused and take it one task at a time."

Yosuke scowled. It was a beautiful deflection. However, there was something he wasn’t saying. There had to be. He couldn’t press it right now though.

“Yeah, you’re right,” He lied. “Chie, you ready to head out?"

She nodded, and Minato nodded to Teddie.

“We’ll follow you.”

* * *

“Minako, are you ok?”

Minako tried to steady her breathing as she leaned over the toilet in the girl’s bathroom. She answered Aigis’s question with another round of vomiting. Of course something wasn’t right. That was obvious. However, Aigis would probably take it the wrong way, and she just wasn’t up for an extended explanation. Especially not when she had totally violated her privacy and followed her into the bathroom stall.

She loved Aigis, she really did, but this was absurd. She was really going to get scolded later.

“This happens sometimes,” she said as cheerfully as she could, wiping her mouth with toilet paper. “It’s just part of being human. Sometimes you get sick.”

“A human in prime operating conditions would not fall to illness,” Aigis advised. “Should I begin an investigation into the source?”

“No,” Minako said, “It’s probably just food poisoning.”

“That is unlikely,” Aigis said bluntly. “Over the last ten days you have shared most food sources with at least one other individual, none of which are sharing symptoms. The remaining food sources are incapable of giving illness of this scale.”

She was tracking her food? Yeah, she needed to be alone right now.

“Aigis, on second thought, can you please double check those ‘remaining food sources’ for pathogens?”

Aigis seemed satisfied with being given a task and left the stall to begin her investigation. She felt slightly guilty about giving her such a stupid task, but sometimes it was necissarily. Early on she had tasked her with counting the floor tiles in the school just for a little peace and quiet. 

"Perhaps you should ask Theodore?"

Minako's attention snapped up in frustration. Pharos was sitting on the back of the toilet smiling innocently. Was it just something about being supernatural that was just incompatible with knowledge of boundaries?

"This is the girl's room, can't you just break into my bedroom like normal?" She whined, but Pharos just tilted his head in confusion. She sighed. "Perhaps I should ask Theo about what?"

"Orpheus being ripped from your soul. That is why you are sick I assume?"

Minako gave him her best glare. “Couldn’t you have started with that?”

He giggled. “I did start with that.”

She tilted her own head. Huh. Guess he did.

“I love how expressive you are,” he said with a giggle.

“I love being alone in a bathroom stall,” she countered. She sighed when Pharos didn’t vanish. Guess she should hurry her way through this conversation if she wanted to vomit in peace. 

”How did Orpheus get ripped from my soul?”

“No clue.”

“Than how do you know it was?”

“I know everything about you and your soul.”

“Cute, if a bit creepy. Do you know who or what did it?”

“No.”

“Do you know why it was?”

“No.”

“Are you any help at all?”

Pharos blinked before pouting. “I thought I was helping by letting you know.”

She sighed. Puppy dog eyes should be illegal when they were that big. She put on her best peppy voice. “I’m sorry! You are super duper helpful! Do you have any other information on what’s going on?”

“Well, Orpheus was already returned to you.”

She tapped her chin in thought. “So we have some sort of supernatural something borrowing persona from people?”

“I suppose you could say that.”

“Can we send them a strongly worded letter asking them not to?”

“We’d need to find them first.”

“And we have no idea how to do that?”

“Exactly.”

She gave an exasperated humph. She had spent months getting Pharos to trust her enough to be open with her. It had paid off, no doubt about it, but she had assumed her personal spooky ghost stalker had some sort of all knowing omniscience. Maybe like a pocket Igor with pinchable cheeks.

She heard the bathroom door open, and Pharos vanished. However, her relief only lasted a moment.

“Minako!” She heard Yukari shout, “Aigis is harassing the lunch lady! What did you do?”

She groaned. Would it kill her if she stood up? Probably. Regardless, she wiped her mouth again with some toilet paper again to make sure she was presentable before flushing and exiting the stall with a peppy smile.

“Operation save lunch begins now!” She said with all the enthusiasm she could manage. Worried it wouldn’t be believable, she even added in her signature fist pump. She ran out of the bathroom, grabbing her friend’s wrist on the way. She ignored Yukari’s objections as she dragged her down the hallways. If she turned to her, she might notice how flushed her face still was, so it was important to lead facing forward. No one could tell you were in pain if they only heard peppy catch phrases and all they saw was the back of your head. And thats how she liked it.

She might not love the situation she was in, but she would die before she let it break her smile. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was oddly hard to write, and writing Minako will be the end of me. However, I gave it the old college try, so hopefully you guys enjoy!


	10. Connections

Minato touched down in his hospital room, Chie and Yosuke close behind. He was thankful it was still empty, wasn’t sure exactly how he would explain coming out of the TV. If they were really lucky, none of the staff would have even realized he was gone. He glanced around the room for any evidence.

“Hey, Chie,” Yosuke said from behind him. “See if you can go through the TV on your own.”

“Huh? What are you talking abo- Oh! I can! Does that mean it’s all about persona?”

“Seems like it.”

He ignored them and walked to the window. He gave the handle a small tug.

Locked.

“You two should leave,” He announced. “And don’t let anyone see you on your way out.”

The two looked at him in surprise, but he gave them a serious look.

“This window was open when we left. Someone was in here, which means someone knows I’m missing. You probably don’t want to be associated with that.” Chie’s eyes widened.

“Wait, what do you think-” Yosuke cut her off by grabbing her shoulder with a look of grim understanding. If they weren’t allowed back into the room, they weren’t going to be able to help him find Yukiko.

“We’ll do our best,” Yosuke said with a nod, and the two left as quietly as they could.

Minato waited for a minute to give them a head start before leaving himself. They might need a distraction, and a coma patient that went missing and suddenly showed back up in the middle of the hospital would certainly count. He changed back into his hospital gown, his blood stained outfit would be probably a bit too much. He tucked it under the bed for the time being, he would find a way to properly dispose of it later.

The long hallway was empty save for a girl his age sitting outside on a bench outside of a room, staring at the ground. He wasn’t sure how long it would be before he needed to become a distraction, and whatever punishments he would face would probably be lessened if he was with someone. He made his way towards her.

She was a thin girl who clearly paid close attention to her figure. However, despite her best efforts, he doubted he could have picked her out in a crowd. 

He glanced into the room she was sitting outside of. A man in his late forties was hooked up to a variety of devices, not too dissimilar to what he had been only days ago.

Total life support.

It made sense, intensive care patients would naturally be grouped. He looked back to the girl, who was still staring at the ground. It was clearly an emotional time for her. Perhaps it was her father? An uncle?

He sat next to her.

She looked up in surprise, and he tried to act casual while keeping an eye on the hallways for incoming nurses. He doubted he actually needed to interact with her, he just needed the nurses to hesitate before causing a scene. The fact that she was having a hard time just made her that more useful to him.

“Do… I know you?”

He frowned as he realized he was going to have to actually talk. Perhaps he should have found someone else.

“I doubt it.”

A silence grew between them, but to his dismay she spoke again.

“Umm…. Why are you sitting there?”

“To be social.”

“Oh.”

Satisfied that he had fulfilled his social obligations to the conversation, found himself checking the time. Had it only been two minutes since he left the room? It felt longer than that. The silence was broken by his new seat partner.

“You are doing a really bad job.”

He blinked. “At what?”

“At being social. You’re doing a really bad job of being social.”

“Oh. Sorry.”

“It’s ok.”

Silence stretched again, and he sighed. Not even he could leave her hanging at that.

“Minato,” he said.

“Hm?”

“Minato. That’s my name.”

“That’s nice.”

“... What’s yours?”

“… Yumi.”

“That’s nice.”

Silence crept back in. She went back to staring at the floor, but this time it seemed to be in confusion. She suddenly burst out in laughter and gave him a big smile. It was the type of smile you couldn’t forget, so large and 

“If you’re trying to cheer me up, don’t worry about it,” she said. “I appreciate it, but-”

“I wasn’t. It’d be a waste of breath.” 

Her smile shattered instantly as she looked lost for words. He looked down the hallways again. 

“Is it serious?” He asked.

“... Yeah.”

“Were you close?”

“No.”

“Do you wish you were?”

“... No.”

“You don’t have to lie to a stranger.”

She frowned and breathed deeply, clearly done talking about the subject. He checked his phone again. It had really only been five minutes? To his surprise, she quickly broke the silence.

“Why are you really talking to me?” She asked quietly. He shrugged.

“It’ll help when the distraction starts.” She looked at him in confusion, and he was suddenly aware of the sound of footfalls from the hall approaching them. Sayoko turned the corner and nearly dropped her clipboard when she saw him.

“Minato!” She screamed, and ran down the hall as fast as she could at him. He sighed in annoyance at his nurse’s reaction but had to admit it was exactly what he was hoping for. He just needed her to call in some backup to clear the way for his friends to escape.

Sayoko dropped next to him, immediately checking his pulse and placing the back of her hand on his forehead. He didn’t react to any of this, letting her do her job, but he noticed Yumi very carefully analyzing the situation.

“Where did you disappear to?” Sayoko demanded. “You disappeared for hours! What is wrong with you? Do you want to be bedridden for the rest of your life? Because you are doing a good job of making sure you don’t recover!”

“I was being social,” He said simply. She glared daggers at him.

“And just who were you being social with?” She demanded. “Chie? Yosuke? I swear to every god you know-”

“I’m sorry, he was with me.”

Sayoko turned as if seeing her for the first time, and Minato felt his jaw nearly drop in shock. Not only was she intervening, but she was lying. Boldly.

“Excuse me?” Sayoko demanded, to which Yumi put on a face exactly like someone who just got caught in the act. With how big her eyes seemed to become, there wasn’t a doubt he could pick her out of a crowd now..

“Well,” she explained, “he was trying to take a walk, but it was clear he needed a little help. We took a little stroll and time seemed to slip away from us. By the time we began coming back, he was walking slower and the round trip took a couple hours. I’m sorry I didn’t report it, I assumed he was clear to leave.”

“She was annoying,” Minato said flatly, “She kept making me take breaks.”

Yumi playfully slapped him in mock frustration, and Sayoko looked between the two of them skeptically.

“And what exactly were you talking about?” She asked.

“Her father’s condition,” Minato responded, causing Yumi’s eyes to widen, but she expertly covered it up with what seemed to be embarrassment. Was that part of the act? He had to admit, he couldn't tell. 

“Minato was talking about how he wished he knew his parents more and was using that as a projection onto me,” Yumi said in a huff, crossing her arms and looking away dramatically.

Minato winced and looked away from them. How much of that had been an act? And had that been an act?

Sayoko went quiet before standing upright again. She looked between the two of them and sighed.

“Well…” She hesitated. “If you never do this again we may be able to overlook it this time. Now can you walk with me back to the room? Or do you need help?”

“Well, I’m done helping him walk, so you guys need to,” Yumi said in a handwave. Sayoko frowned at being told what to do, but nodded and left to get a wheelchair.

Yumi turned back to Minato, brushing her hair behind her ear with a smirk. “You owe me one.”

He raised an eyebrow. “I suppose I do. Thank you."

She giggled a little, but shouted at him as he got up to leave.

"What is your deal?" She demanded. He blinked in confusion before realization dawned on him. He held out his hand, which she looked at in confusion. Slowly she put her hand on it.

"... I meant your phone," he clarified, and she withdrew her hand as if burnt. Her cheeks were a deep red as she quickly replaced it with her phone and looked away.

He ignored her embarrassment as he texted himself from her phone, putting in 'he owes me one' as the contact name. 

"You really helped me out, so don't be shy about calling in that favor," he said seriously as he handed it back.

He heard her rapid texting as he walked away. His phone immediately started buzzing.

_ Does this act work on every girl you try it on?  
-11:13am _

_ So far  
-11:13am _

_ And how many would that be?  
-11:13am _

_ One  
-11:14am _

* * *

This time when Dojima opened the door to the hospital room, Minato was in his hospital bed.

"Seems like third times the charm," Adachi muttered as the nurse on staff watched them in disdain. He didn't blame her, springing an interrogation on a child who had just woke from a coma was hardly his most noble moment.

But people mistook how tough kids were. Most could withstand more than anyone expected. Sometimes more than the adults in their lives. It was decision making they lacked. They never knew the severity of the situations they got themselves into.

Judging by the boy's calm look of defiance, he fit this description to the letter.

"Did you tell him we were coming?" He asked the nurse in exasperation. She tapped her chin, blatantly stating she wanted him to know she was lying.

"You know, I just can't remember. It's possible I slipped something to one of his little friends though. You know how kids these days are. Glued to their phones."

He sighed. Of course this couldn't be easy.

Adachi strode across the room, flipping a chair around and sitting in it backwards facing Minato. He stuck a hand out with a goofy grin.

"The names Adachi, nice to meet ya," he said without hesitation. Minato looked between them and shook the hand after a moment of consideration.

At least he was polite.

"Do you have any idea why we are here today?" Dojima asked. Minato nodded.

"I have some ideas."

"That's impressive, considering we only have one," Adachi joked, and Dojima had to resist punching the back of his head. Minato's eyes flickered to his partner only a moment, in what seemed like a cataloging of expressions and tone.

Dojima pulled up his own chair, and placed a tape recorder down on his night stand.

"Do you mind if I record?" He asked, already switching it on. The question surprisingly didn't phase him.

"I have no objections."

"Right. I am Detective Dojima. Do you mind stating your name for the record?"

"Minato Arisato."

"Minato, do you mind telling us why you think we are having this discussion?"

"You are most likely trying to find evidence relating to the disappearance of Yukiko Amagi."

"Just before recording you said you had ideas, plural, for why we are here. Do you mind sharing some of your other ones?"

"I had also thought it possible you were going to report the death of Yukiko. Considering you have a recorder that suspicion has mostly vanished though."

"Why would you believe that?"

"From what I understand Yukiko went missing at some point during my coma. Her friends, some of which I am acquainted with, did not inform me when. Considering there is potentially a murderer on the loose, It seems like a reasonable fear."

"Perhaps, but we don't typically visit friends of friends in person."

"I see."

"So, how'd ya get into Yukiko's friend group?" Adachi asked. "I hear she's pretty popular," 

"I sit next to one if her best friends in class."

"Oh yeah? What's her name?"

"Chie Satonaka."

"Anyone else?" Dojima asked.

"We sit two to a row."

"I meant is there anyone else in the friend group."

"Yosuke Hanamura."

"And how'd ya meet him?" Adachi asked.

"We talked after class."

"What about?"

"I don't remember well enough to submit it to record."

"Ok then, what about Yukiko? When'd you meet her?"

"She was working the front desk as I checked into her family's in. And if you don't mind me stating the obvious, you know all this. Is there any information you need that only I can give?"

Dojima felt his teeth clenching. The kid sounded like a damn lawyer's statement. At least when they dealt with troublemakers like Kanji they could make him say whatever they wanted by pressing the right buttons. Their subtle prodding was getting them nowhere here.

"Alright then," Dojima agreed, "What can you tell us about Yukiko's disappearance?"

"Nothing new."

"We would still like you to state it. Just in case."

"I am told second hand that she disappeared at some point during my two week coma. From what I understand currently, there are no official suspects and her leaving of her own free will has not been ruled out."

"If she were to leave on her own, do you know where she would have gone?"

"No."

"Do you know anyone who had a grudge against her?" Adachi asked.

"No."

“And just what are you hiding?” Dojima growled. Everyone, including the nurse who had been silently watching the entire time, looked at him in shock.

“I don’t know what you are referring to,” Minato said evenly, although for the first time his eyes flicked towards the nurse. Perfect. He was looking to another figure of authority for a potential out.

“And what do you know about the murderer?”

“I know nothing about the murderer.”

“Nothing?”

“Nothing.”

Dojima nodded. “How is Saki Konishi doing?”

Minato’s face hardened, and the nurse began moving towards them. He held his hand up to stop her. Looks like he found the line.

“Excuse him,” Adachi said apologetically, “But his point does stand. We’d like to know everything you know. We aren’t going for a gotcha moment. We’re just trying to understand, like you are.”

Minato looked between them before nodding.

“Assuming there is a murderer,” Minato began, “To my knowledge they have only killed two individuals, Saki Konishi and Mayumi Yamano. Mayumi was staying in Yukiko’s hotel, and Saki was the one to find her body. Both pieces of information I got from Yukiko and Saki respectively. The victims were hung from telephone poles. Anything else I could say would be hearsay.”

“Let us in on the hearsay,” Adachi said soothingly, resting his chin on the back of his chair. “You aren’t in court. We’re honestly just looking for some potential directions to take the investigation. What you think might be useless info could spark an idea for us.”

“Adachi,” Dojima scolded, falling into his bad-cop roll. “You’re being way too soft. We have reports of Saki Konishi being highly stressed the day before she was killed while with you, Chie, and Yosuke.”

Minato was silent for a second. However, he eventually began talking very slowly and carefully.

“Saki had a panic attack,” He confirmed. “It was due to imagery of the dead body she found showing up in a way she didn’t expect, namely all the TVs in the electronics section.”

“Why didn’t you get medical assistance? Panic attacks are serious business,” Adachi asked in concern.

“I am familiar with the basic procedure of how to deal with one, and she recovered quickly enough she didn’t want to make any larger of a scene.”

“How’d ya learn that?” Adachi asked.

“I did.”

“You’re going to have to be more specific than that,” Dojima pressed, tired of all the dodging. Minato’s eyes flashed briefly to the nurse again before giving him a smirk.

“When I was seven, I watched my decapitated parents burning in the remnants of a car crash. Whoever pulled me out also saved a girl who was, rightfully, having a full blown panic attack. I imitated the steps of that first responder, who’s methods I have since verified. Would you like me to go in depth on the blood splatter on her face? Because I can.”

“We’re done here,” the nurse announced, stepping between them. “I gave you permission to ask him about clues directly relating to the case due to the urgency, not to cross examine his childhood trauma. I trust you didn’t waste everyone’s time here, and got some new info? Regardless, you have my permission to leave.”

“Ah, come on-,” Adachi tried, but was cut off by a death glare. He than rubbed the back of his neck and muttered something that he didn’t quite catch. However, if he had to take a guess, ‘bitches’ wasn’t the only curse.

As they stood to leave, Adachi suddenly turned back to the room and pulled out his phone.

“One sec, gotta text the GF,” Adachi said happily. Dojima looked at him in shock, and the nurse was about to shout before he closed the phone again. “Sorry about that, ladies, you know how they are.”

As they were roughly shoved out the door, Dojima glared at his partner.

“Since when did you get a girlfriend?” He asked a little more harshly than needed.

Adachi pulled his phone out and pointed to the picture he had just taken.

“Since having one was an excuse to take a picture that includes a blood stained sleeve tucked under a bed, which might be enough evidence to get us a judge to sign off so we can bring him down to the station and question him without interruptions.”

Dojima looked at the picture blankly for a second before bursting out in laughter.

Despite all his blundering, Adachi had come through. He could hardly believe it. He knew he had potential. Positive reinforcement was in order.

“Once we’re done with everything, first round is on me!” He declared.

“Y-yes sir!”

* * *

Yukari shook her head in disbelief.

"Jeeze Minako, how on earth do you maintain that figure?"

The girl shrugged as she tackled her fourth slice of cake. She had said this was her favorite cafe, but Yukari hadn't expected this. 

"You should eat more," Minako objected between bites, waving her fork dramatically. "Gotta enjoy the moment. Plus, it's not like you're in danger of being fat."

Yukari rolled her eyes and leaned back into her chair.

"I look the way I do because I don't eat two thousand calories in a sitting thank you very much."

Minako looked at the menu again. "Three thousand actually."

"Bullshit," Yukari said, snatching away the menu. She felt her eyes widen. "Eight hundred calories each? How is that possible?" She threw the menu down. "Science has gone too far. Get the arc, we're starting over."

Minako giggled. “Aye Aye captain!”

Yukari’s phone buzzed and she groaned at the screen. It read ‘little shit’.

“Everything alright?” Minako asked.

“Just some boy who keeps texting me,” she complained.

“He creepy or something?”

“Or something… He’s just annoying. He thinks that just because we are partners in a project we are friends or something.”

Minako tilted her head. “Do you not wanna be friends?”

Yukari sighed. “It’s not that simple.”

“Why not?”

“Do you have no concept of stranger danger?”

“No, not really. If someone ends up actually threatening me, that’s their mistake.”

“Seriously? I mean, I guess it makes sense for you…”

She flipped the phone open and read the text.

_ You have one, don’t you? _

_ -2:09pm _

She rolled her eyes.

_ I have a what?  
-2:10pm _

_ A persona  
-2:10pm _

She stared at the text. How on earth had this random kid learned what a persona was? None of the books she had given him related to anything supernatural. There were a lot of potential explanations , but the most likely was something she really didn’t want to think about. He was facing shadows without the backing of the Kirijo group. 

_ How many of you can summon them?  
-2:14pm _

_ Answer my question and I answer yours.  
-2:15pm _

_ Yes.  
-2:15pm _

_ Two. Call me.  
-2:15pm _

She looked to Minako, who was watching her face with concern. She wanted her friend’s opinion on the matter, but she was so close with so many Kirijo assets. Could she trust her friend not to rat her out? A group of persona users that the Kirijo group didn’t know about could be the ace in the hole leverage she needed. 

Unless they did know about them? A sudden chill ran down her spine. How many teams of Persona users did the Kirijo group have? Was the reason Mitsuru and Ikutsuki were so insistent on keeping the group small so no group could grow strong enough to oppose them?

She sighed slowly. She was doing it again. She had been digging into this conspiracy for years. It had gone deeper than she would have ever imagined, but jumping to conclusions has never helped. Mitsuru, Minako, and Aigis were hand selected S.E.E.S. members, but she was a member because she had found them. That was only possible because her investigation methods worked. Keep calm. Don’t catastrophize. Find connections.

“Are you ok?” Minako asked.

Yukari closed her eyes and breathed deeply, hiding her expressions. She had gotten where she was alone. Minako was a friend, but friendship didn’t learn anything about her father. She had to keep her professional and private lives separate. In fact, it was very possible one could destroy the other.

And her job as a daughter overruled everything else.

“Everythings fine,” She said, standing. “I have a call I have to take. Can you handle the tab? I’ll pay you back, this is urgent.”

“Not a problem. Just tell me if there is anything else I can do.”

Yukari nodded in genuine thanks. She didn’t want to throw up this wall between them. If she had her way, she’d tell her everything. But as it was, she couldn’t afford to. 

* * *

Minato lounged on his hospital bed, watching the news. It was incredibly annoying to be able to walk out whenever he wanted, but not doing so to keep up appearances. If only he could get his PC he could at least game. He should at least be studying…

His phone buzzed and he saw it was a text from Yosuke.

_ Do you know someone named Minako?  
-9:18pm _

He thought for a second before sending back his response. He had been to a lot of schools and met a lot of people.

_ A couple, none of them well.  
-9:21pm _

_ Ahh, sorry, nevermind.  
-9:21pm _

_ Why do you ask?  
-9:23pm _

_ Oh, you just had the same last name as a friend of a friend before she was adopted.  
We thought you might be siblings or cousins or something.  
-9:24 _

Minato thought through his family tree before shaking his head and sending a text back.

_ If we are related it’s so distantly I don’t know how.  
-9:27pm _

_ Ahh, makes sense. Thanks dude.  
-9:27pm _

There was a knock on his door before it was opened. The two detectives from earlier strode into the room and stood cross armed.

“Hows it goin' Minato?” Adachi asked in his fake friendly tone. “Sorry about this, but you’re gonna have to come with us. We’ve got a couple questions for you down at the station.”

“And don’t worry,” Dojima continued, “It won’t take longer than a day. But we do have to go now.”

Minato looked between them before texting Yosuke again.

_ Taken in for questioning. Explore tomorrow with just Chie.  
-9:28pm _

“Come on, enough texting, it’s time go” Dojima said, closing the distance. Minato quickly removed the sim card in his phone before handing it over and getting out of bed.

He fake stumbled across the room, eventually propping himself up against the TV, slipping the sim card through the screen as subtly as he could. The two officers were immediately there to help him. Strangely, Dojima seemed to be the more concerned of the two, while Adachi was eyeing his now empty hand suspiciously.

“Adachi, grab a wheelchair,” Dojima barked. However Minato pushed himself upright.

“I’ll be fine, lets go.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, I've written, edited, and rewritten this chapter at least eight times, I can barely keep straight what ive included and cut, and this is all with personal stuff going on. I'm just saying fuck it and posting it at this point. Let me know if you find errors. Sorry for any lack of quality here, but I've kept you guys waiting long enough and I think I need to move on for my own sanity.
> 
> Also, yikes, beta reader did not work. 
> 
> I also ended the poll, thank you for everyone who participated! Naoto was the winner, but unfortunately I have other plans for her plot wise. Don't worry, she'll be pretty major in the story. Elizabeth and Rise however... I can work with those.
> 
> I will write a one shot collection for some of the other majorly voted for characters when I have time, and just know I appreciated everyone who took the time to vote.
> 
> Oh, and yes, I messed with the front end a little and am setting up to make this a series.


	11. Connections (cont)

Senior Commissioner Danuja sat patiently in the Inaba station security room, paging through the reports filed over the last year.

Simply a disaster. Reports sloppily filed. Procedures not followed. It was no wonder the precinct had never produced anyone of higher rank than detective. A culture of failure could only fail. The fact that an old man like him had simply walked into the security room unquestioned was proof of this.

It was truly a shame that a mass murderer had chosen this area to target.

He caught a glance of one of the rear doors opening and saw his two detectives walk in escorting what seemed to be a teenage boy. The only detectives in the prefecture. The detectives assigned the most important case in years, which was making his department look bad.

He dropped the case folders onto the desk, and took a set of hanging keys, locking the door as he left. If no one could get in that was their problem, and they would receive a write up.

The sparse staff he passed in his march through the building fumbled whatever they were doing at the sight of him, one going as far as backing into a wall in an effort to escape his path. His sneer deepened as he saw the rampant lack of discipline. By the time he reached his detectives he was in a full on scowl.

“Dojima!” He barked as they came into view. The detective jumped in shock at seeing him, but then hardened his face, standing up to him defiantly. The other detective cowered behind the boy, who was looking at him impassively.

Ironic that only the boy had the right response to him.

“My office, Dojima, now!”

“Your office?” He repeated in confusion. He responded by holding up the keys.

“One of your coworkers were kind enough to donate theirs.”

“Sir, I was just about to question the witn-”

“There are two of you aren’t there?” He glared at the cowering detective, who got the hint and dragged the boy into another room.

“With all due respect commissioner, I don’t think Adachi should do this alone. I should be there to-”

“The boy is so young he might as well be a toddler,” he shot back. “If Adachi can’t question a child without his hand being held, why is he a detective? Now, come along. We have failures to discuss.”

* * *

Minato sat across a large table from Adachi, who was whistling as he got his papers in order, a recorder sitting between them. The room was surprisingly clean, nothing at all like the cop movies he had seen. The lighting felt almost ambient, instead of a single lamp hanging from the center of the room. It seemed to lower the stakes. 

He fought his disappointment.

“So, Minato,” Adachi said, “Just letting you know everything is recorded, yada, yada, do you have any questions before we start?”

“Am I being charged with anything?” He asked.

“Oh goodness no!” Adachi said with widening eyes. “You are our key witness!”

Minato hadn’t expected that. Witness to what? However, if the question showed on his face, Adachi must have missed it because he immediately went back to his papers.

“Says here you’re quite the individual,” He said, impressed. “Straight A student. Varsity track runner freshman year. Did well in Kendo nationals, only losing via point deductions. And from the looks of it you’re a prodigy on the violin, winning every contest you’ve ever entered. So, I’ve got to ask, what is someone like you doing in a place like Inaba?”

Minato hadn’t expected the praise, and found himself answering honestly before he could stop himself. “Financials. I need to stay somewhere cheap.”

Adachi frowned. “Yeah, I hear ya. Life isn’t the best to people like us is it? You can spend your entire schooling career top of the class and yet end up in the middle of nowhere.”

Minato nodded. If they were going to play on good terms, he had no problem staying on them. Adachi hesitated for a moment before turning off the recorder.

“Silly me!” Adachi said in mach surprise. “Finicky thing just shuts off sometimes. Maybe I can turn it on if something important comes up, but for now we are going to have to speak casually. So I’ve gotta ask. Are we barking up the wrong tree here?”

Minato studied him for a second. “Depends on what you think is in the tree.”

Adachi nodded. “Good answer. Let me just lay out what we have. We have two corpses, dead and hanging from telephone poles. No cause of death. Now, that on its own is weird. How does that happen right? Well, it just so happens that at the same time, some star student falls into a coma, no cause, near death state. Quite the coincidence, right?”

“Right,” Minato agreed hesitantly. 

“Not only that,” Adachi continued, “But this kid just happened to come to town right when all this started happening. Turns out the kid knew one of the victims, while staying in the same hotel as the other. Even ignoring the coma, that’s a pretty good cause to meet him and ask what’s what, wouldn’t you agree?”

“So why didn’t you?” Minato asked. “Why wait till now?”

Adachi grinned as if he had won an award. “Oh, don’t worry, we’ll get to that. For now though, we’re still going through what we have. You started running with a certain group of kids, namely Yukiko Amagi. Now, as you know, Yukiko Amagi went missing. Unlike the others though, she hasn’t turned up dead. Pretty weird don’t you think?”

“Yeah,” Minato agreed. “So where do you think I fit in all this?”

“Well, you have a special place in all this the way I see it,” He explained, “You see, you were in a coma during Yukiko’s disappearance. If we run under the assumption that Yukiko was kidnapped or murdered, that rules you out as the culprit, doesn’t it?”

“I’d hope so.”

Adachi nodded in satisfaction. “Now, lets start connecting everything. Do you know the first time we tried to reach you?”

“Today right?” Minato asked in confusion, but Adachi shook his head.

“We tried to visit your room at the hotel, and Yukiko not only didn’t give us the right one, she actively didn’t pass on the message. Now, that could just be a coincidence. However, it gets weirder. We actually visited you earlier today, and weren’t we surprised to see you weren’t there! But who could have helped you get out? Now, it’s possible some stranger did, but it might be more likely the kids who have seen you every day since the coma did.”

Adachi slid his phone to him, a picture of the room with his bloody shirt under the bed pulled up.

“Now, this is where things get interesting. That isn’t your blood. You simply can’t lose that much in a couple hours and be fine. So, who’s is it?”

Minato tried to slow down his racing mind. They had visited his hotel room? Why had Yukiko covered for him? This was far worse than he thought it was. He couldn’t know what to lie about if he didn’t know what they knew. However, he couldn’t let the silence stretch too long. 

“I don’t know. It must have been placed there while I was out with Yumi.,” he said as naturally as he could. That was an established lie. He could run with that one.

“See, that is interesting,” Adachi said, rubbing his chin. “Because we got a sworn statement from a nurse who saw both Chie AND Yosuke going to your room that morning. Sounds like it was planted.”

Minato’s eyes widened. Was he suggesting-

“looks like you’ve caught on,” Adachi said with a nod. “Lets go over this again. Yukiko blocked us from getting to you. That is because you know something incriminating, or might soon know something. When Yukiko’s mother passed out from the stress of dealing with Ms. Yamano, our little trio decided to up and kill her. Saki discovered the body, and pieced together who did it. She confronted the killers, and was promptly murdered. You did the same, but whatever method they use to kill they did it a little too little and you ended up surviving. Yukiko was the one do the dirty work, and once it became clear you were going to live, she fled her former partners. They then got you to do the job, in exchange for getting rid of some blackmail they have on you which is why your shirt was covered in her blood. So, the real question is, what is the blackmail and what will it take to get you to work with us?”

Relief washed over Minato he moved to begin ripping apart the story, but stopped. He narrowed his eyes at Adachi. It didn’t add up. The whole setup was ideal to get him to confess to knowledge he had denied previously. Why would he do this with the recorder off? Unless...

“The one thing I don’t understand,” Minato said, “is where the second tape recorder is.”

Adachi burst out laughing, reaching into his suit and pulling out a second recorder.

“Man, you are the real deal,” he said as his laughing died down. He pulled out a marker and wrote on the side of the recorder before sliding it across the table.

Minato caught it in confusion, and glanced at what was written down. A phone number?

“We’re a lot alike,” Adachi said, lazily resting his chin in his hand as he leaned forward. “A couple ‘a swans in a chicken coop. I’ma take a wild guess and say you are closer to actually solving this case than old Dojima, aren’t you? Well, I gotta say, I am too. Problem is, there is so much red tape and needing to explain things to your superiors that my hands are tied. Doesn’t help that I can’t go in the TV like you can. Oh, you surprised I caught that? Your little sleight of hand trick was good, and I have a couple other informants like you. None quite as sharp though. If someone like you joins my little off the books team, think about how fast we could get this nice and wrapped up! So here is my proposition. You keep that recorder as a token of trust and text me with that number when you have new information. In exchange, I’ll keep the law off your back and give you investigative directions. What do ya say?”

Minato never pegged himself as slow, but even he took a second to process this. Adachi had pulled him through the conversation without any effort. He studied Adachi closely, but for the life of him he couldn’t see beyond his cheery demeanor. How much could he trust him? As Minato settled on his answer, Adachi interrupted him.

“Don’t worry about answering now,” he said, looking at his nails. “If you wanna stay out of it, that’s fine, just stay totally out of it. When you decide to join though, use that number. You might want to hide that recorder though, Dojima will be back any second.”

Minato pulled the recorder under the table, only to realize he didn’t have pockets in his hospital gown.

“You’re resourceful,” Adachi said with a wink, “I’m sure you can find a way to not get caught.” He reached across the table to the first recorder and turned it back on.

“Are we recording again?” Minato asked.

“Yeah,” Adachi said, his previous nervous demeanor back. “Sorry about that. Let the record show the battery died. Now then, sorry if you don’t mind, we will have to retread a little ground here…”

* * *

“I’m nothing like that. I’m nothing like that. I’m nothing like that…”

Yukiko stared at her knees as she repeated the words. They were the only thing that mattered anymore. Her pants had been soaked in tears and dried several times over, the patterns of the stitching long since memorized. Anything to avoid looking up. Anything to avoid looking at  _ it _ .

She absently wondered how she hadn’t died of thirst or starvation yet. Perhaps she was now subsisting off the fog that filled her cage. She hated to admit it, but the fog had become something of a comfort. Anything to obscure the nightmares around her. Maybe the fog was also protecting her from starving?

How long had it been? Weeks? Months? There was no such thing as time anymore. Everything was the same dimly lit monochrome sepia. Day and night were distant memories. As were hot and cold. Was she even breathing anymore? There was only one thing that was certain. As long as she hid in the fog everything would be simple. The issues would fade. 

She could hide in her cage. That  _ thing  _ outside couldn’t get her.

That  _ thing _ .

“I’m nothing like that. I’m nothing like that. I’m nothing like that…”

Yukiko stared at her knees as she repeated the words. They were the only thing that mattered anymore. Her pants had been soaked in tears and dried several times over, the patterns of the stitching long since memorized. Anything to avoid looking up. Anything to avoid looking at  _ it _ .

She absently wondered how she hadn’t died of thirst or starvation yet. Perhaps she was now subsisting off the fog that filled her cage. She hated to admit it, but the fog had become something of a comfort. Anything to obscure the nightmares around her. Maybe the fog was also protecting her from starving?

How long had it been? Weeks? Months? There was no such thing as time anymore. Everything was the same dimly lit monochrome sepia. Day and night were distant memories. As were hot and cold. Was she even breathing anymore? There was only one thing that was certain. As long as she hid in the fog everything would be simple. The issues would fade. 

She could hide in her cage. That  _ thing  _ outside couldn’t get her.

That  _ thing _ .

“I’m nothing like that. I’m nothing like that. I’m nothing like that…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So as I continued writing, I realized this really should have been tacked on to the previous chapter. It'll just make the next chapter more cohesive. Realizing this after the fact is part of the problem with post as you write ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯
> 
> Since this is so short, I didn't think it was fair to go the full two weeks, so bonus content!
> 
> Also, we have reached 100 Kudos! Even disregarding the obvious appeal of such a rounded number, that puts us in the top 30% of all persona 4 fics and 20% of persona 3 fics! I'm really happy that so many people are enjoying the fic, and hope this is just the most recent of many milestones! After all, this fic is still just getting started!


	12. Yosuke's true self

“Welcome to the velvet room.”

Minato opened his eyes to the increasingly familiar room. He looked between the three beings before him. Elizabeth was radiating her usual confidence, and he was pleased to see Marie seemed to have picked up her own. At least, now she stood upright, and looked at him directly. A large improvement. 

Igor took charge, as usual, leaning forward across the table between them with his uncanny smile..

“The actions you are taking are fascinating indeed,” he said, “I must say, I am impressed by the confidence with which you are facing the world. As you prepare to face your biggest challenge thus far, we thought it important to remind you of the support we can give.”

Elizabeth opened her tome, allowing three cards to float above it. Minato nodded and followed the persona summoning ritual, letting his essence flow into the cards as they appeared in front of him. However, this time, the cards hovered above Marie.

Marie closed her eyes and exhaled as she seemed to strain. Elizabeth grinned as a shape appeared above one of the cards.

“Nigi Mitama,” Elizabeth narrated, “Of the temperance arcana. It represents the bond you have forged with the girl from the hospital.”

The cards suddenly began shaking and Elizabeth was instantly beside Marie. Somehow, Minato didn’t find himself questioning the lack of movement between locations. The cards stabilized with her appearance, and figures appeared above them instantly. 

“I could have done it,” Marie panted.

“Yes, but I couldn’t have not done it,” Elizabeth said back. “We must assure our guest the highest quality of service. Now, can you please do introductions for them?”

“Slime,” Marie said, bitterness apparent. “Created with the joker arcana bond you have with the detective. Also, Oberon, from the empress-”

“Emperor,” Elizabeth corrected.

“What? But she’s a gi- ugh. This is so stupid,” Marie pouted. Elizabeth’s expression darkened, and Marie shrank back a little before hastily continuing. “The emperor arcana, forged with the nurse.”

“The bonds you forge represent the journey you have undertaken,” Igor explained, pulling Minato’s attention away from the girls. “The arcana representation is their impression on you, not of the state of the confidant with which you have created the bond. While it is typical for the bond to form with those who naturally embody the essence of an arcana, it is not always so. Women can imprint the values of masculine energy and vice versa.” Minato nodded in understanding, but noticed Marie blushing with embarrassment. It seemed the comment hadn’t been for him.

“What happens,” Minato asked, “if someone I made a link with dies?”

Elizabeth appeared back in her normal place, suddenly the image of professionalism.

“Nothing is set in stone,” Igor said. “You may simply not complete the journey. Or, perhaps you will need to find an alternate and unexplored route. How you would respond to such adversity would depend on you respond.”

Minato nodded and looked between him and Elizabeth. “Is there anything else you can assist me with in rescuing Yukiko, seeing as I have a bond with her?”

“You don’t have a bond with her,” Elizabeth said.

Minato blinked. “Then the priestess arcana-”

“That would be me,” Marie said. He turned to her in surprise, before turning to Elizabeth.

“Than what are you?”

“You do not share a bond with Elizabeth,” Igor said.

“Well, how do I forge one?”

“One doesn’t have the luxury of choosing who their bonds are with,” Igor advised seriously, “Now, Elizabeth, would you be so kind as to finish the ritual? We must discuss how to provide opportunities for Marie to grow her bond with our guest.”

Elizabeth pursed her lips as the three persona shattered in a violent explosion with a snap of her fingers. The shards fused into their respective cards, and she opened her tome to admit the new cards. However, she paused before closing it.

“Elizabeth?” Igor asked as which she took a card from the book and left it open, floating beside her. Igor and Marie seemed at a loss as she made her way around the table. She ignored them, holding her hand out to Minato with the card in her palm.

“Do you truly wish to have a bond with me?” Elizabeth asked. Minato nodded and placed his hand on hers, the card separating his hand from her glove. She smiled and put her other hand on top of his, and he felt an odd warmth flow from her..

“Close your eyes,” Elizabeth guided softly. He did as he was told. “Relax. Look deep inside yourself. Deep within the depths of your soul.”

The ambiance of the Velvet room lulled him into a seeming trance, and he felt himself floating in a star filled void. He looked around the void in awe. What were those stars?

“Stop thinking, feel what is around you.”

Minato did as he was told, and even the stars began to vanish. As his consciousness dropped deeper and deeper, the world seemed to reemerge as an all consuming melody. He could feel sound flowing through him, and felt himself begin to breath along with the swells of the aria. He could feel his soul subtly vibrating along with accompanying strings, and through that resonation felt something tied to him. No, it was many things.

“Those are your bonds,” Elizabeth said in perfect harmony with the music. “Now that you have felt them, open your eyes.”

Minato was flooded with light as he opened his eyes again, face to face with Elizabeth. This was the first time he had seen her so close, and he had to admit he didn’t mind the view. He felt his soul shake, as she once again smiled with unshakable confidence.

“That feeling,” she said, “Was the sensation of a new bond forming. The star arcana. Now that you have felt it, you should be able to identity by feel when a bond forms or improves in the future.”

She carried his hand from the card, and a bull above it.

“Nandi,” She said, and it softly dissolved into shards that flowed into the card. She then placed his back onto the card, and guided his to place the card into the tome that floated between them.

“Do what you want,” she said. “Disregard all those who oppose you. Destiny is something you can shape, if you have the will.”

“That is quite enough Elizabeth,” Igor said definitively, reminding Minato that other people still existed. Elizabeth hesitantly dropped his hand before returning to her post in blatant satisfaction. He suddenly felt as awkward as Marie looked. How long had she and Igor silently watched as Elizabeth held his hand? Surely it hadn’t been too long?

“It is good that you have learned to sense your bonds,” Igor continued, “however, learning to do so seems to have taken a great deal of the time we had. For now, we must part ways, so I bid you farewell and good luck.”

Shit. It had been a long time. A good use of that time though.

* * *

“Are we almost there?”

Yosuke barely heard Chie complaining to Teddie as he tried to steady his breath. While finding the Saki’s liquor store again was taking longer than he expected, he wasn’t complaining. It didn’t help that since it was a monday he had all day to stew on what he was about to face.

Yukari didn’t have any idea that someone could meet their own shadow, despite being a persona user for almost a year. As far as they could tell, they were the first people to ever face something like this. And he was the first person to ever willingly face his shadow.

He felt like he was watching himself move at this point, and the anxiety he felt in his stomach had him feeling sick. Chie’s shadow hadn’t been pretty. The fact that Chie, one of the nicest and pure people he had ever met, had a shadow like that… what would he have?

He shivered. How deep would it dig? It seemed Chie had known most of what it said already, but what if he didn’t? What if hit him in a way he wasn’t ready for? What if it got him to admit something truly horrid?

He felt a hand on his chest and jumped back with a shout, fumbling for his weapons. Chie, hand still outstretched, was looking at him with concern.

“You ok?” she asked. He tried to steady his breathing as he put his weapons away, missing the sheath a couple times due to his trembling hands.

“Yeah, I’m just trying to clear my head before we get there,” he said.

“Yosuke… We  _ are _ here.”

He froze and finally looked past her at the store they were standing in front of. Sure enough, it was the liquor store, the black portal still blocking the doorway.

“Are you gonna be okay?” Teddie asked. He nodded, but Chie’s frown was a clear indication of how convincing he was.

Regardless, Chie moved towards the doorway, reaching out and touching it.

“It… seems safe?”

“Careful Chie,” Teddie warned, and she gave an uncertain smile back.

“Hey, I'm the cool persona person now,” she said, “It’s my turn to lead the way right?”

As if on cue, a black hand from the doorway, grabbing her face pulling her in. However, she caught both sides of the door with her hand, stopping her from entering the portal.

“Chie!” Yosuke shouted, and began to run to her. To his surprise though, her leg shot up and severed the arm from the portal, allowing her to back up and brush the hand from her face as she began bouncing between her feet.

“I said it was my turn to be useful,” she said without turning to him, instead fixating on the five masses of black goo that fell to the ground.

Unlike Minato, she didn’t wait for them to take a form. A card appeared in front of her, which she smashed in silence. Persephone appeared in a blossom of flowers as Chie dashed forward faster than he’d ever seen her move. The first mass of darkness was scattered by her heel, accelerated by a front flip that flowed smoothly into an axe kick. Her steel plated boot than sparked as she scraped it across the ground, destroying a second still forming shadow.

Yosuke watched in stunned awe as Chie smoothly backed away the last three shadows, now fully formed. One was little more than a blob with arms and a red mask, while the others were the floating zebra orbs Minato had faced. She began bouncing again, clearly waiting for them to move first.

“The one on the ground has fire attacks!” Teddie called out, “And is weak to ice!”

“You can do that?” Yosuke demanded, to which the bear shrugged.

“Of course. I can smell it. I am a bear after all.”

“And you just started telling us?”

“Minato seemed to be doing just fine.”

Before Yosuke could push the issue though, the blob hurled a fire ball as the zebra shadows charged Chie. She leapt to the side of the fireball, and met the zebras with a charge of her own. She dropped to the ground, sliding under the first one and destroying the next with a bicycle kick as she backflipped from the ground. She spun for another kick, and Yosuke felt his heart stop.

The zebra caught her leg in it’s mouth.

Blood dripped from it’s mouth as Chie’s wince became progressively more pronounced as it bit down harder. She fumbled her balancing on her one remaining leg, and shouted as a fireball hit her in the back, covering her in cloud of smoke. He found himself shouting her name again, but then noticed the calm smile on her persona as it’s billowing white robes turned black, the flowers below her wilting.

The blob shadow was suddenly encased in ice with a wave of Persephone’s hand, and Chie jumped toward the liquor store, slamming her leg into the wall, destroying the shadow still latched to it. Blood dripped from the leg as she calmly walked to the now frozen final shadow. Persephone’s robes turned white again, and as the flowers beneath her bloomed again the bite marks slowly closed themselves. By the time she reached the frozen shadow she wasn’t even limping. Another axe kick shattered ice and shadow alike.

“Way to go Chie!” Teddie cheered, but Yosuke was lost for words. Minato he was prepared to accept this type of stuff from. But this was Chie. Was he supposed to be ready to see her suddenly turn into a badass?

“I feel like I’m light as air,” she said, rubbing the back of her neck with a laugh. “I can finally do all those cool moves from the kung fu movies!” Her smile dropped a little when she saw his look, and she brought her leg out in front of her. “Oh, don’t worry about the blood. I swear, it looks a lot worse than it does. Turns out Persephone can heal me! Who knew! Turns out I’m pretty reliable in a fight!”

“Oh, he wasn’t concerned about your health, don’t worry about that.”

Chie jumped, falling into a fighting stance at the voice coming from inside the store. Glowing yellow orbs appeared in the dark gateway, and slowly formed into eyes as his shadow stepped from the entryway.

He had expected it, but it was still jarring to see a clone of yourself begin to laugh maniacally. Still, it was time to shine.

“What do you-” Chie started, but Yosuke immediately jumped in.

“Let him talk, we don’t want a fight.”

Chie’s tension lessened, but she still glared at the shadow.

“So, lets get this over with,” Yosuke said as he stepped forward. “Chie, if you don’t mind giving us a little space-”

“Oh yeah, push her away,” the shadow said with a grin. “We can’t let her know what you’re actually thinking. Why, just imagine if she knew you were considering letting her die yesterday! Talk about awkward.”

Chie’s eyes widened as her eyes snapped to him, and he bit his lip.

“That’s… True. And I feel horrible. I’m sorry. I can’t deny what he says, you know that. But it was more complicated than that! It was you or Minato and we didn’t know the rules of the TV world, and we still needed to rescue Yukiko and.... I didn’t know. Luckily we didn’t have to find out.”

The hurt in Chie’s face cut at his insides, which were already trembling from the anxiety. He breathed out slowly before facing the shadow.

“That all you got big guy?” He mocked. “A bad thought I had in a bad situation?”

“Ooh, sass, I like it,” The shadow laughed. “Man, nothing better than a laugh to hide all your insecurities is there? But yeah, I’ve got deeper. You sure you can handle it? Or maybe I should ask Chie. What ya say baby girl? As the nearest female, mind if I unload all my problems on ya?”

“Hey what’s all that supposed to mean?” Yosuke shouted. “I do not do that!”

“Oh, Saki!” The shadow swooned. “I know I know nothing about you, and you might as well be a manakin for all that I actually care about your personality, but you are the nearest socially acceptable to hit on female. Please notice me senpai!”

“Shut up!”

“Yosuke!”

Chie was glaring at him, warning him not to act up. He breathed in as slow as he could to try to control himself. She was right. Rejecting the shadow was deadly. If they had Minato, maybe they could afford to fight it. But if he lost grip on the situation now, it’s possible not only does Chie die trying to fight it, he dies when she fails, Teddie dies running, Yukiko dies without help, and Minato might die trying to save her.

He couldn’t afford any of that.

“Done?” The shadow said with a chuckle. “Nice and calm? Makes sense. Saki died what, a month ago? Less? Makes sense you’d be calm, contrary to popular belief. She never really meant much did she? What color were her eyes again?”

Yosuke opened his mouth to snap at them, but felt his stomach rise into his throat as he realized he didn’t know the answer. The shadow burst out into full laughter.

“Damn you’re pathetic,” it said, slapping it’s knee dramatically. “That’s the most basic thing I could have asked. But of course, you do like em nice and basic don’t you? That’s why you went for Yukiko next wasn’t it?”

“Y-Yosuke!” Chie shouted, but the tone was different this time. He would have responded, but the air was sucked out from his lungs. This was so much worse than he was expecting.

“You didn’t even have the good graces to talk to Chie about it did you?” The shadow pressed, switching to a mocking voice. “I know you were the first friend I made here and have been nothing but good to me. But sorry, you don’t even count as a girl to me. Nah, your best friend, who has so many barriers up around her I know nothing about her? Yeah, that’s the one I’ll go for. And just like with Saki, she’s just another blank slate to project my image of what a girl is supposed to be onto. Of course she wants to hear all about all my problems! That’s what a proper girl does right? After all, it felt so good to unload everything onto her. Man, if only there was a girl in my life I could really open up to. What is the name for a girl like that? One who actually cares about you? Is supposed to look out for you? Shit, everyone has one, but me.”

He tapped his chin dramatically, and the shaking in Yosuke’s legs finally won out as he slumped to his knees. He had to answer. He had to or everyone would die.

“Mom.”

The shadow snapped his fingers in recognition. “Very good! Damn, when was the last time you said that word? Years? Its hilarious, you live in the same house as her, but all you can do is watch her and fucking wish she gave a damn about you. But when was the last time she even looked at you without prompting? And god knows you are way too much of a fucking coward to get her attention directly. It’s ripped this giant hole out of your soul that you’ve dedicated your life to trying to fill. Maybe if you were like your father she’d care? You work, hell you become an honorary manager! Nothing! You become your father’s pride and joy hopefully he’d brag to her about you? Not a chance! Well, maybe you can fill that void with friends? You got some good ones. Suddenly you move away and…” The shadow held his hand up to his ear in anticipation.

Yosuke had to answer.

“No one cared.”

“Correct! Ten points to depression!” The shadow laughed. “Man, how was that for teaching you how much you can rely on your friends?”

The shadow seemed to vanish and reappear behind Teddie, knocking him to the ground and sitting on him. Teddie tried getting up with the efficiency of an overturned turtle, but the shadow seemed to find it even funnier that way.

“That’s when you realized you were better than those friends. Hell, you were better than everyone! Inaba was a shit place anyways! You already have a bunch of no good lousy friends who don’t even try to keep in contact with you. What’s the good in making more? Oh, you’ll still be social, because you know a couple jokes is all it takes to get them clapping like trained seals and validate you for the time being. Cheap investments for cheap pleasures ya know? And deep down, you really trusted your friends, and if they let you down why expect a bunch of hicks not to? And if no one here was going to be as good a friend, and you were better than all your other friends because you cared way more about the friendship than them, why not just fucking treat Inaba like a playpen for you to do whatever you want? You’re gonna leave anyways, none of these people will follow, and they are all beneath you. If their well being was hurt by you figuring our who you are, what did it really matter?”

“That’s not-” Yosuke stopped as he felt a tear run down his cheek. When had that started? He exhaled.

“Yeah. That’s me.”

“Yup. That’s you. So, you thought, what’s the best way to fill that hole you have? Well, your dad did. He found a girl. So what should you do in this backwater town with no consequences? Find some bimbo you can pressure and make your own. Someone hot you can show off. Saki was a perfect plaything to test your moves on. As her boss, she couldn’t say no could she? Oh, you knew she hated you for it. But it was just so much easier to ignore that fact. If anything, i’d say her death was well timed, it got us out of explaining anything to anyone. If anything, it was a bit of a relief. You were ready to move on anyways. And first swing we got a home run! Yukiko Amagi! Damn boy, got to say, I couldn’t have imagined someone more perfect for you.”

The shadow stood up, kicking Teddie behind him as he did so, and walked to Yosuke, who’s head now hung limp. He lifted up his chin so they could see each other.

“Yukiko Amagi. A fucking trophy. Someone so fucking meek and proper she didn’t run the first time you just scratched the surface of any of this. Someone who spent her entire life serving others and wasn’t complaining about being your emotional tissue. Someone who might be able to fill the void mommy left. God, it felt good to just not be rejected by a girl that mattered. And her active listening, it was good enough to pretend she actually cared! For the cherry on top, she was hot enough that you could show her off before she left you, helping improve your social status so you could just keep trading up anyways. Maybe if you just kept climbing that social ladder you’d find a point you were happy. After all, that recognition she gave you… If that was what fucking heroin feels like sign me up, am I right?”

This was so wrong. This wasn’t how he thought. This wasn’t right. This wasn’t him. Except it was.

“Yeah, basically sums me up.” He wasn’t surprised that his voice cracked. He was more surprised he said it. The shadow frowned. “Didn’t like that answer did ya? Well, let me finish this out for ya! The worst thing is seeing how horrible it all felt being in Inaba. Feeling so alone, feeling like my time here was worthless, feeling like nothing mattered. Talk about doubling down on how much better than everyone I had to have been to not fit in. Then some dumbass named Minato shows up and shows me up.”

He slapped the shadow’s hand away from his face, standing to face it head on before continuing. “That was fucking painful. Seeing how much better he was than me. How the world seemed to revolve around him. If i’m better than him, then it should revolve around me. I should be the center of the world! But I’m not! And that’s because he’s better and I’m worse! And if there are people in Inaba better than me, all the ways I’ve treated the people here…”

He looked to Chie, who gave him a weak smile and thumbs up. “Yeah, that’s all me being horrible. I tried to run from it. I tried ignoring it. I tried doubling down. Anything to prove to myself I was better than him. But even if I was, i’m not better than Chie, that much is obvious. And I have no real reason to think I was better than Saki. Or Yukiko. Or anyone else. Which means I had no excuse for treating Saki the way I did. Or anyone else. But things are only that way because I’m you. And you’re me. And I’ve got a lot to work on to make up for that fact.”

The shadow examined him closely before nodding. Giant white wings burst from it’s back, and it’s skin fused with it’s clothes as all it’s features faded into a semi-translucent silhouette. It flapped its wings as it floated above and radiated divine light.

“Icarus huh?” Yosuke said as his persona looked down at him. “Sheesh, I would get the one with the bad rep, wouldn’t I?”

The persona shrank down and flew into his chest, and he felt a burst of exhilaration before a wave of tiredness that had him hit the ground on all fours. Chie was instantly next to him.

“I’m fine,” he panted, but she ignored him and got under his arm to help him to his feet. Peace suddenly washed over him. Was this what it was like to be accepted? To have real friends you can rely on?

The feeling ended as he felt Chie’s fist land on the back of his head.

“Dude, what the hell!” He complained, rubbing the assaulted area.

“What do you mean I don’t count as a girl?” Chie said in a huff.

“Seriously, out of all that, that's what you fixate on? You look at me like a walking ATM!”

“Oh that's all past tense and you know it! And at least I knew you were a guy ATM!”

“Geeze that’s not what I meant and you know it! Obviously you’re a girl, but you just aren’t one that I… Well, look at romantically.”

Chie was quiet for a second before nodding. She suddenly smiled.

“Well that’s good, cause you weren’t my type anyways. This way you rejected yourself!”

“H-hey, I could be!”

“Uhh… My advice, quit while you’re ahead and we’re still friends.” Chie said. “Teddie can you get us out of here before this loser starts drooling over me?”

* * *

“Thank you for tuning into the ten o’clock news on ZEXPI and friends. Tonight, we have a curious case from New York. Manhattan actually. It seems to be a double whammy. A teacher at an all girls catholic school was just arrested for multiple accounts of sexual abuse of his students. However, horrifying as that is, that isn’t what made the case unique. That would have to be the fact that after his confession he has retroactively claimed to be coerced by a group he calls the Phantom Mafia.”

Margaret smiled in pride as she turned off her TV and looked across the break room to Elizabeth, who was currently lounging on a sofa. She seemed far too intent on reading her dictionary and gave no indication she had noticed the device being turned off, guaranteeing she had absorbed every word.

“Did you hear that?” She asked.

“Hear what?”

“Success.”

“Curious, all I heard was an inflated ego.”

“And all I hear is suppressed jealousy.”

Elizabeth lowered her book with a frown. “Surely you aren’t using the success of your guest as an indication of your own skills as an attendant?”

Margaret let a sly grin slip out. “I certainly wouldn’t reject claims along the lines.”

Elizabeth narrowed her eyes. “Surely the results in the first month indicate the comfort of our guests’ starting situation.”

“Ahh, yes,” Margaret agreed. “And with it, an indication of how valuable a material we have been entrusted with.”

“Or more likely the margin of error we are assumed to need,” Elizabeth suggested.

“Perhaps they threw you out with the failure and cut their losses because they didn’t want to spend a real attendant on someone like him.”

The dictionary hit the ground.

“Table. Now.”

Margaret laughed. Nothing like quality time with her sister.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, I'll give you this one early as a preemptive apology. This next chapter is going to take a while, but it's not because I'm going to be slacking! It's going to be the Yukiko arc finale, and it's going to be a monster. I mean that in every sense, length, impact, style, it's gonna be great! So please be patient!
> 
> I know I took a little liberty with Yosuke, but is it really a story about Jungian psychology without a character having mommy issues? Plus, I think it works alright, but feel free to agree/disagree! If you guys have any questions, comments, concerns, spot any mistakes, ext, I'd really appreciate it if you shared your thoughts! 
> 
> That said, can I just say you guys are objectively awesome? Like, looking at engagement, you guys are top tier. Fun fact, as of this second, if you sort all Pharos stories by comments, we are the thirteenth story! Just a funny coincidence, thirteen being the death arcana and all.


	13. Yukiko's True Self (pt 1)

**_Yukiko straightened her skirt as she sat at the train station. She couldn’t believe she was actually about to leave Inaba. The circumstances surrounding the trip were unfortunate at best, but she was allowed to be excited. She had to be able to enjoy things as they came. She had dreamed of seeing the city for far too long to allow herself to not enjoy it._ **

**_“Jeeze, pack light enough?”_ **

**_She felt herself stiffen as she heard Yosuke’s voice. She had been too lost in her thoughts to notice him. To her surprise, the only thing he was bringing on the trip was a small backpack. She clutched the handle of her full sized suitcase defensively._ **

**_“Oh, um… I just wanted to be prepared.”_ **

**_“No need to be so defensive,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck. “It was only a joke.”_ **

**_“Oh, right.”_ **

**_A silence grew between them and she was suddenly faced with the reality that she had no idea what to do or say. She had worked with customers all her life, but being one on one with a boy her age without the security of professionalism was something she didn’t know how to approach. Should she just treat him like she would Chie? No, guys were so different that couldn’t work. So what should she say? Should she say anything?_ **

**_Luckily, Yosuke just yawned and flipped out his phone. “Jeeze, I thought I would for sure be the first one here. How long have you been waiting?”_ **

**_“Oh, not too long. Just under an hour.”_ **

**_His eyes widened. “An hour? Why on earth did you show up so early?”_ **

**_She laughed nervously. “I guess I was just excited about going to the city and didn’t want to be late. In hindsight, I was probably a little too eager and could have left a little later.”_ **

**_“Ya think? What’s the first thing you want to see in the city?”_ **

**_She pursed her lips in thought. “Well, skyscrapers obviously. And a really big one. I saw a video of someone climbing one, and I think that would be really fun.”_ **

**_He laughed. “We’ll look around for any businesses like that, but no promises. We aren’t in America after all, I don’t know how many adrenaline junkies there are who’d want to do things like that. That might be a little adventurous for your first time in the city anyways though, don’t ya think?”_ **

**_She shook her head. “Not at all. I don’t know how many times I’ll get to leave Inaba, so I don’t want to waste a second.”_ **

**_Yosuke looked at her sideways. “I hope you aren’t forgetting we’re on a mission here?”_ **

**_“Oh, of course,” she said hurriedly, “But we are going to have free time… right?”_ **

**_“Hey, free time with a pretty girl? You won’t find me complaining.”_ **

**_“Don’t get any ideas.”_ **

**_“Hey, you need my ideas to experience the city fully don’t ya?”_ **

**_She bit her lip to suppress a smile. “Yeah… Maybe you’re right.”_ **

* * *

Minato stood in front of the the castle Yukiko was hidden away in. 

“Guess it’s finally time to head on in, isn’t it?” Chie asked. 

“Seems like it,” Yosuke agreed.

Minato nodded, walking to the front doors. He exhaled slowly and slowly pulled them open.

* * *

**_Yukiko giggled as Muku rushed to the door to meet her, wagging his tail and barking in anticipation of some play time._ **

**_“Down boy” Chie shouted from inside the house. She rushed to the door, grabbing the puppy by the collar and opening the door with her other hand. “Sorry, we still don’t have him fully trained.”_ **

**_Yukiko shook her head as she entered. “Don’t worry about it, I came to see him too!” She knelt down and scratched the dog behind the ear._ **

**_“Yeah, about that.... Everything alright? It’s not like you to come by like this. Not that I mind.”_ **

**_She kept her focus on Muku. It wouldn’t sound right to just say anywhere was better than home. At her eighth birthday last month, Chie HAD said she was allowed to come over whenever she wanted. Maybe it was just politeness, but she felt like she needed to take that chance._ **

_**“Everything'is fine,” She lied. “I just want to spend time with you. And Mr. Muku, oh, who’s a good boy! You are!”** _

**_Chie stared at her for a second before nodding. “Mom! Dad! Yukiko’s here!” She shouted, not bothering to wait for any sort of feedback before skipping into the house. Yukiko winced. She was too polite to tell her no herself, so she was getting her parents to do it. She decided to save some time and stay in the entryway, sitting up against the wall, giggling slightly as Muku jumped onto her and licked her face._ **

**_“Move it Muku! Heads up!” Chie shouted._ **

**_Yukiko’s head snapped up just fast enough to catch a series of flying objects sent her way. To her astonishment, she managed to catch both of them. She blinked as she stared at them._ **

**_A spoon and a carton of ice cream. Mint chocolate chip. Her favorite. She looked to her friend, who was scratching the back of her neck in embarrassment._ **

**_“I don’t like the kind very much,” she said awkwardly. “But dad picked it up anyways. We need to get rid of it to free up freezer space.”_ **

**_Footsteps of someone coming down the stairs._ **

**_“Yukiko’s here?” a deep voice asked. Chie’s dad poked his head around the corner with a smile. “Seems like you already got your ice cream! Chie here wouldn’t let us leave the store without it.”_ **

**_“DAD!” She shouted, turning bright red. She tried to push him away, but he chuckled at the futility of his pre-teen daughter’s attempts at brute force._ **

**_Yukiko’s mind went blank. Her parents were ok with her being here? And, whats more, Chie had asked them to pick her up ice cream? Her favorite kind? Just in case she decided to come over one day?_ **

**_She opened the ice cream and took a bite before she felt herself choke up. She hugged the ice cream in one arm and Muku in the other. It was like the troubles of her life were washing away. It didn’t seem real that a place like this was here for her. And Chie had tried to carve this place out for her specifically, going as far as remembering her favorite flavor when she couldn't have done more than mention it in passing. How many times had she opened the door for her? How many times had she ignored it?_ **

_**Muku however, wasn’t there for hugs and . He was there for playtime. Expertly pulling out of her hug, he jumped on her again, accidentally shoving the opened ice cream against her chest. She gasped at the sudden cold as she suddenly found her red shirt covered in green.** _

_**“MUKU! Bad dog!” Chie screamed, causing the oversized puppy to sprint full speed away from the crime scene. Chie chased him through the house waving a fist as her father just laughed and began making his way back upstairs.** _

**_“Stay as long as you like Yukiko,” He called out warmly, “And don’t be such a stranger in the future!”_ **

**_Yukiko found she was laughing with him. She wasn’t sure she had ever laughed like this before. She felt her entire body convulsing, as if all the laughter she had missed out was trying to come out at once._ **

**_Chie came back into the room with a handful of paper towels, still red with embarrassment._ **

**_“I’m so sorry Yukiko,” She said “I don’t know what got into him, oh my god this is a nice shirt too. I’m so sor- why are you laughing?”_ **

**_“E-everything,” She managed to say through the laughs. She suddenly laughed harder. “It’s not even a good shirt!”_ **

**_“It’s nicer than anything I have!” Chie said with a pout. “It’s not fair.”_ **

**_Yukiko giggled and got a dab of ice cream and poked Chie’s nose with it, laughing harder at her bewilderment._ **

**_“Jeeze, you’re like a hyena,” she muttered._ **

**_“Hey Chie, what’s your favorite movie?” Yukiko asked, ignoring the comment._ **

**_Chie’s eyes lit up. “Uhh, Fist of the South, duhh! Its about this brazilian guy who does a bunch of flips and kicks and ‘watchaaaas’ and beats up a cartel! And he is a south paw, which is a fancy way of saying he's left handed. It’s actually a really clever play on words. Oh, and there is this one part, where -”_ **

**_“Can I watch it with you?”_ **

**_Chie looked at her suspiciously. “I thought you didn’t like kung fu movies.”_ **

**_She nodded. “But you do.”_ **

* * *

Chie stepped forward to the knight that stood in their way.

“This one’s mine. Persephone.”

She rushed forward, feeling energized as she felt her persona channel energy into her. The knight accepted her challenge, lance pointed directly at her as it met her with a charge of its own. She didn’t even blink.

“Valkyrie.”

Minato’s persona appeared between her and the knight and brushed the lance out of the way, leaving the shadow wide open.

She jumped, front flipping to pick up momentum before driving her heel into the knight’s helmet. The shadow dropped to the ground, and as she landed she turned to see Minato nodding.

“Time for an all out attack!” Minato announced.

She was the first to reach it. The faster they finished here the faster they got to Yukiko.

* * *

**_Yukiko stretched as she pushed away the stack of newspapers. Yosuke looked at her in surprise._ **

**_“Something wrong?” He asked. She shook her head and smiled._ **

**_“Nope! Because it’s time for a break!”_ **

**_He blinked and glanced at his watch. “Huh, I guess we have been at this for five hours. I guess some sort of dinner is in order.”_ **

**_She nodded and the two of them began discussing ideas as they cleaned up and left the library. The amount of variety suggested boggled her mind. Yosuke seemed to be rattling off food from all over the world, naming cooking styles she had only heard of and cuisines she couldn’t even pronounce. Even just walking down the streets of the city they passed countless cafes and small restaurants, each with their own gimmick. It was so different than anything she had ever experienced. Most of the time they just ate off the inn’s menu._ **

**_She suddenly stopped as she smelled something totally foreign. Yosuke laughed when he noticed and smelled it too._ **

**_“I know that smell. You in the mood for some Mexican food?” He asked._ **

**_“I’ve never had it before,” she admitted. His eyes widened._ **

**_“We can’t have that, can we? Lets go. My treat.”_ **

* * *

“Icarus”

The semi-translucent angel emerged above him, and he stared down the red and blue scale-shaped shadows blocking their way.

“They are weak to wind and lightning!” Teddie announced, causing him to smirk. Icarus raised a hand and a mini tornado appeared over one of them, hurling it against a wall and causing it to vanish.

“Asparas”

The persona appeared between Yosuke and the shadows, taking a barrage of ice attacks. Yosuke didn’t waste the opening, and fired off his wind attacks as fast as he could, each packing enough of a punch to destroy a shadow. The shadow’s attacks began switching to fire, and in the same heartbeat Asparas became Orpheus.

There was no more time to hold back. It was time to put everything on the line, and the shadows were defeated in record time.

* * *

**_Top of the class again._ **

**_She should have been happy to see it. She should have been proud. But she wasn’t._ **

**_She glanced at her classmates, who had gathered in the hall. They were eyeing her with everything from jealousy to desire. She quickly looked to the floor. She hadn’t even tried on the test._ **

**_“Amazing, as always.”_ **

**_She turned to see Chie approach from behind her, a huge grin stretched across her face._ **

**_“Y-yeah,” Yukiko said. Chie frowned._ **

**_“Everything ok?”_ **

**_Yukiko kept looking at the ground._ **

**_“Do you wanna leave?”_ **

**_“Yeah, no point, in staring at my failures,” Chie agreed as she nervously eyed the posted scores. Yukiko shook her head._ **

**_“No, I meant Inaba?”_ **

**_“Huh? Like on a vacation?”_ **

**_“No, I mean for good. Like, moving away.”_ **

**_Chie laughed. “Of course not.”_ **

**_Yukiko’s eyes widened as her attention fully snapped to her friend._ **

**_“I love Inaba,” She said. “It’s beautiful, friendly, safe, quiet, and it’s where everyone I love is. I don’t really see a reason to leave.”_ **

**_Yukiko looked back to the list. She put on the customer service smile she had been practicing._ **

**_“Yeah, you’re right. Who wouldn’t be satisfied with Inaba.”_ **

**_“Yukiko… Are you sure everything is ok?”_ **

**_“Oh look Chie, you passed! You even got a B in math!”_ **

**_“Seriously?! YES!”_ **

* * *

Minato raised a hand to signal the team to stop. 

“You are fighting recklessly,” he announced. “We need to slow down. You don’t know your limits.”

“Like hell we need to slow down!” Yosuke panted back. “We’re almost there!”

“That’s why you need to slow down. We can’t afford to be at anything but our best going forward.”

“I really appreciate you helping Minato.” Chie snapped, “but if you aren’t willing to put in the effort, you can take a break and let me and Yosuke do everything.”

He looked between the two of them before nodding. It seemed they had made up their minds.

“Got it. I will keep covering you.”

* * *

**_“Is that an arcade?”_ **

**_Yukiko looked at the building, bright flashing lights covering the outside. She had never seen one in real life, and the name ‘Quincy’s game corner’ followed by a series of pinball machines seemed to fit the bill._ **

**_“Yeah, seems like it,” Yosuke said, “Although it’s kinda late, you sure you wanna go? We need to wake up early tomorrow. We’ve only got one more day and haven’t found anything.”_ **

**_“Positive,” She said with a grin, grabbing his hand and pulling him into the building. It only took him a second to get the hint and follow willingly._ **

**_Stepping inside was stepping into sensory overload. Buzzers, alarms, the smell of cheaply made food, and far too many colors fighting for attention. She stood in a daze for a second as Yosuke laughed._ **

**_“Yeah, guess nothing like this is in Inaba, huh?”_ **

**_She shook her head before looking to choose her first game._ **

**_“Ooh, skeeball looks fun!” she pointed out, wasting no time in trying to drag him with her. This time there was no resistance. She felt her cheeks heat up a little. Maybe he was getting the wrong idea here?_ **

**_Or maybe she was?_ **

**_“50 yen, I’ve got it,” Yosuke offered, paying for two stations with pocket change._ **

**_“You ever play this before?” She asked._ **

**_“Yeah, me and my friends played all the time after school,” he said confidently, sending his first ball up the ramp. He winced as it bounced off the highest number, straight into the no score zone. She giggled and sank hers into the safest zone._ **

**_“You’re supposed to get a higher score you know,” he pointed out. She shook her head._ **

**_“No, I’m just supposed to be beating you. I have ten, you have zero. You better step up your game.”_ **

**_“Oh, you have no idea what you’re getting yourself into.”_ **

**_She rolled another one, getting another ten. She smirked._ **

**_“Well I’m twenty up now. I think I’ll be fine.”_ **

**_He scoffed and rolled one up, landing in the 50._ **

**_“Hey, you better watch out there,” he shot back, “that overconfidence is gonna come back to haunt ya.”_ **

**_She bit her lips to hold back a smile. “Oh? And how's that?”_ **

**_“Well yea, cause if I win, you have to play dance dance revolution.”_ **

**_“Says who?”_ **

**_“Me, obviously. Don’t worry you get to make a rule too.”_ **

**_She narrowed her eyes, and rolled her next ball, getting a 50 herself._ **

**_“Ok,” She agreed as he rolled his eyes. “If I win, you pay for all my games for the night.”_ **

**_“Not fair!”_ **

**_“Oh, watching me dance is worth less?”_ **

**_He glared at her before getting ready to roll his next ball._ **

**_“Point taken. I’ll cover you tonight and your train ride home.”_ **

**_“You’re on.”_ **

* * *

“Yukiko is definitely behind that door!” Teddie confirmed. Minato looked between Yosuke and Chie.

“Are we ready?”

The two nodded. Still, he hesitated. They had already fought their way through the entire castle, were they really ready for this? He turned to the doors separating them from the objective.

Did it really matter if they were? They were out of options. He exhaled as he threw open the doors in a grand gesture.

The throne room was enormous, with ornate gold decorated pillars that along with a long red carpet created a natural pathway to a raised platform at the opposite side of the brightly tiled room. On the top of the platform, a figure in a victorian style ball gown sat upon the throne, their presence seeming to cast a darkness across the entire hall. Even from this distance, their glowing yellow eyes triggered a primal fear response akin to a snake about to strike.

Minato paused seeing this. It was totally different than Chie’s shadow had been. The sensation was the same, but the intensity was on a different level. Yosuke and Chie paid no mind and sprinted past him.

“YUKIKO!” Chie screamed. It was only at this point that he pulled his attention away from the shadow to the girl next to it. On the floor of what seemed like a giant bird cage Yukiko was curled into a ball, her face hidden in her knees.

Minato’s attention was once again snapped back to the shadow, who stopped everyone’s movements with the aura of darkness she exuded. Despite this, she opened her arms warmly.

“My princes have arrived!” She said happily, the tone not at all matching the piercing nature of her eyes.

“Princes?” Yosuke asked uncertainly, causing Yukiko’s head to rise.

“Everything it says is a lie,” she muttered before her head dropped back onto her knees in sobs.

“Yes, my darling princes,” the shadow agreed, walking off the platform to meet Chie. She backed away, but the shadow kept approaching her until she could grab her chin.

“Chie, the prince of my life,” She said dreamily. “The one to shelter me from the horrors of the world. The one to give me hope through the darkest nights. My life raft in the turbulent sea of life. How could I see you as anything less than someone ripped straight from a fairy tail?”

Chie’s eyes widened at the compliments, and the shadow released her, pinching her cheeks with a wink before moving to Yosuke.

“Youske, my knight in shining armor,” She swooned as she approached, turning and trustfalling into him. He caught her instinctively, and she wrapped her around his lovingly. Yukiko looked up from her knees in horror and jumped from the floor to the cage walls.

“Leave him alone!” she screamed in terror. He looked at her in shock and tried to push the shadow off him. She only held his arms tighter.

“You are the one to rescue me,” she said softly, snuggling deeper into his arms. “You are the one to rescue me from this hell we call life. I was drowning my entire life, and I feel like there is finally air to breath.

“Yukiko?” He asked uncertainly.

“LEAVE HIM ALONE!” Yukiko shouted again, falling to the ground sobbing.

“Yosuke get away from it!” Chie shouted, and he obliged by finally tossing the shadow to the ground.

Silence filled the room as the thud of her hitting the ground seemed to echo. This was so incredibly different from the other shadows they had faced. They were ready for insults. They were ready for deep cuts. But this…

“Yukiko,” Chie said as she ran up to the cage. “It’s ok, you can calm down.” Yukiko shook her head in despair.

The darkness in the room darkened even more as the shadow began laughing.

“Stand back,” Minato ordered as he finally entered the room in full.

“No, don’t stand back,” the shadow muttered. “If you stand back, I can’t...”

She looked at everyone in the room before walking back to the throne.

“I used to think you were special,” she muttered, as she climbed the steps. “I thought both of you could have been the ones to save me. I thought you were the ones I could trust. But I was wrong. I was always wrong. I will always be wrong.”

She reclaimed her throne, looking down on them like a judge on the convicted.

“Chie, I waited. You were my prince. You were my knight in shining armor. You had scaled to the highest room in the tallest tower. You had slain the dragon. You had reached my bedchambers. You were my hero. But we never left. I was still stuck inside the prison. For years, I waited for you to take me away. For the walls to stop closing in on me. I wanted to breathe again. To stop drowning. All I could do was hold onto you as a life raft. But the longer I held on the less I remembered how to swim. New dragons had taken residence in the castle, and all hope of escape seemed lost. Now you are stuck treading water, single-handedly holding my dead weight as you live your life, content in the superficial pleasures of my padded prison. You were never my way out. But you were all I had.”

Yukiko sobbed louder as Chie fell to her knees, eyes wide.  The shadow turned to Yosuke.

“And one day, a new prince came. You overcame all odds to rescue me. You held my hand and guided me out of the castle. At first it seemed like my personal odyssey was over. But everything was still wrong… I still couldn’t breath. We were in the sunlight, finally, but it wasn’t warm. It wasn’t the relief I had thought… And I realized I never left the castle. There is no leaving the prison. I AM the prison. You tried. But you weren’t enough. No one is enough. I’m still drowning. Water is filling my lungs as we speak. All of your efforts are for nothing. This life is for nothing. I am a hollow shell not worth saving.”

“She’s wrong,” Yukiko said desperately. “I haven’t given up on you. You are my best friends. I wouldn’t change-”

“THEY DIDN’T RESCUE ME!” The shadow boomed, filling the room with white hot rage as Yukiko broke down again. “There is nothing I can do! I can only sit here on my fucking ass and rot without them! But every time they hold out a hand I can’t reach it. I can’t even do that!”

“I don’t feel that way,” Yukiko whispered. 

“You’re wrong,” The shadow hissed. “I can’t do anything on my own. I need others to do things for me. I’m not strong enough to enjoy what I have like Chie. I’m too pathetic to try to branch out like Yosuke. I thought, maybe, just maybe, if I found someone perfect they could fix my life. But they couldn’t. They can’t. No one can.”

“I had no idea,” Chie muttered. “Please, let us help you. You have friends who would risk everything to save you. You have friends who love you.”

“There is nothing you can do,” The shadow said definitively. “It’s done. My fate is sealed. All attempts are useless.”

“Everything you say is a lie,” Yukiko choked out. “I believe in Chie. I know things will be better now that Yosuke is here. You aren’t me. I am happy.”

“Yukiko, don’t say that, we can only help you if you actually let us help,” Yosuke pleaded. “You have to face the fact that this is real. Then we can work on things together.”

“You have people who love you,” Chie followed up, getting back onto her feet. ”Please, Yukiko, don’t face this alone. I know it’s scary to let us in. But you have to.”

The shadow loomed over her. “Your answer?”

Yukiko sniffled one last time, wiping her tears as she looking up at Yosuke and Chie with her best customer service smile. “I don’t know what you are talking about,” she said, barely stopping her voice from cracking. “I am perfectly fine,” she said. “I don’t like Inaba, but I can trust you. I’ve always trusted you. I might as well be an open book. I am nothing like that... thing."

The shadow laughed again as the temperature in the room skyrocketed. Minato swiped a tarot card to summon Orpheus, with Yosuke close behind. Water began flooding the room, the rushing water threatening to knock Chie over until her persona gave her the needed balance to face it.

“Teddie, figure out it’s weakness,” Minato called out. “Yosuke, buff me and attack otherwise. Chie, stay in spring mode and heal us.”

As Chie and Yosuke nodded, the shadow darkened into little more than a silhouette. Tendrils of darkness spiderwebbed from beneath it’s dress, crawling up the walls. The rising water level reached his chin, and he took a deep breath before plunging his face into it. He looked behind him to check on Teddie, and felt his eyes widen as he noticed the bear floating like a buoy. Teddie's panicked screams pierced the water along with his panicked flailing. 

He tried to yell commands to his allies, but felt water rushed into his lungs. He winced in a mix of pain and frustration, pushing off the floor of the room to reach the surface of the water as fast as possible. Below him he noticed Yosuke and Chie rush the silhouette, horribly slowed by the water.

He couldn’t focus on that however, a tendril of darkness launched from the ceiling, wrapping itself around his throat forming a noose as it lifted him out of the water. His hand shot towards his sword, slashing it to send him falling back into the water. Through the wall of bubbles created on reentry he saw an onslaught of pursuing tendrils.

He shattered a tarot and Oberon appeared above him, using his sword to fight off the tendrils. He finally fought his way to the surface, coughing some of the water out of his lungs before finally inhaling.

“H-help!” Teddie cried, darkness beginning to lift him out of the water. He swiped another card and Valkyrie severed the tendrils, sending Teddie back into the water. Minato swam to him as has he could, trying hard to keep his head above the rising water.

“Do you need to breath?” He shouted.

“Whaaaa?” Teddie responded in panic. “I-I don’t know!”

He rolled his eyes and dunked Teddie’s face under the water. He began yelling unintelligibly. Looked to him like he didn't need to breath. Minato pulled his face back above the water.

“You are going to be how I relay instructions,” Minato decided, “Tell them I trust them and will support them.” Before the bear could protest, he unzipped Teddie’s head, plummeting him into the depths as water rushed into him. He summoned Oberon again before diving back to the main fight. He tried healing himself and felt his lungs inflate.

With Oberon, he could heal them, mitigate the drowning, and fight off the tendrils, but the heavy lifting would have to be done by the others.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this chapter isn't very festive, but merry Christmas!
> 
> I know this is pretty drastically different from cannon. Since she actually found her 'prince' I figured I couldn't run a repeat. Her social link is about overcoming learned helplessness, and it's definitely the more underlying issue she has, so I figured I'd play that route instead. Hopefully you enjoy it!
> 
> Also, this and the next chapter were supposed to be one, but google docs decided to delete 8k words and so this is all I could get out in anything resembling a reasonable time.
> 
> @A_Young hopefully you are happy to finally see some of that bonding time :)


	14. Yukiko's true self (pt 2)

Chie’s body burned. Not only did it feel like her lungs were collapsing in on themselves, but the water itself felt like it was boiling. Yukiko’s shadow was so different from the random shadows they had faced before. If she had known that shadows could grow this strong, she wasn’t sure she would have faced Yosuke’s with him.

That thought gave her more strength than she expected. If Yosuke could pull through there wasn’t a doubt in her mind Yukiko could. Sure, their attacks were useless, but they didn’t need to overpower the shadow. They just needed to get Yukiko to accept it.

Her lungs suddenly seemed to inflate, and she turned to see Minato swimming down, and a waterlogged Teddie waddling across the tiles.

“Minato says he believes in you and he will support your efforts!” Teddie shouted, fully ignoring the fact that he was underwater. Their leader nodded and then began making motions for Teddie. “Uh, I think Minato is saying… Yosuke attack the shadow while Chie saves Yukiko!” She smiled and turned towards Yosuke, who nodded with her. Their earlier assaults were disorganized, but with a little leadership…

Icarus gestured and a current pushed the two of them to the platform. She weaved through an onslaught of tendrils, finally touching down at Yukiko’s cage. She shifted Persephone into her hell form and encased the two of them in a dome of ice. The few attacks that got by Minato crashed harmlessly into the barrier.

“Chie…” Yukiko whispered, using what seemed like an immense effort to lift her head and watch her. She did the only thing she could think of and pushed herself against the cage, forcing her outstretched hand as close to her as possible.

Yukiko’s hand shuttered as she lifted her hand to take it.

“I don’t know Yukiko, we have it pretty good here.”

Chie took another bite out of her burger and moaned in satisfaction. Yukiko sighed in disappointment as she looked at the add for a one bedroom apartment in Shinjuku.

“It’s not like I think Inaba is the perfect place,” she clarified, “I just think the town has made us who we are, for better or worse. And for you, it’s for the better! I mean look at you! You are inheriting a successful business, are a straight-A student, guys would kill to date you, and girls wish they were you. I just think… I don’t know, starting over somewhere else seems a bit extreme don’t you think? If we can’t make it here where could we make it?”

Yukiko choked and her hand fell. Chie opened her mouth to scream, but only a bubble came out. The ice around her shattered as her lungs filled with water. Tendrils grabbed her arms and pulled her away, and Yukiko wasn’t even able to gather the strength to watch.

She felt the water drain from her lungs and the tendrils go limp as Minato’s persona appeared in front of her, launching a lightning bolt at the shadow. It bushed it aside, but the opening was large enough to let her back to her job. The shadow wasn’t her concern for the time being.

She switched Persephone back to her spring mode before launching herself back at the cage. If Yukiko couldn’t get herself out of the cage, she’d bust it open herself. She bashed her bladed boots against the bars of the cage, filling the room with a steady rhythm of metal on metal.

“Stop it Chie,” Yukiko muttered. “You’re being so loud.”

She ignored her and kicked harder.

“The cage isn’t what's keeping me here you know. I just... can’t leave.”

If she couldn’t walk out she would drag her out. She didn't care what the reason was.

* * *

Yosuke pulled his kunai to his chin defensively, managing to just barely block the tendrils.

“Way to go Yosuke!” Teddie shouted as he felt his air supply replenish with Minato’s healing. He smirked and dove at the shadow, using his persona’s wind abilities to create a current that torpedoed him at breakneck speeds. As he approached he felt the water get progressively hot until he felt his skin boiling. He held in a scream for the sake of his lungs and clenched his eyes defensively.

Instinctively, he swung and felt his kunai connect. He dragged the shadow with him into the wall as repeatedly drove his weapons into whatever foreign flesh he could find. Screeches of pain overlapped the pain of his boiling skin and he felt himself swinging more and more desperately.

Then the healing stopped.

The pain enveloped his consciousness, even as the temperature tapered off. He hesitantly opened his eyes to find himself being dragged away by Orpheus.

“Minato says good job!” Teddie announced gleefully, and his burns began healing the moment Orpheus shifted back to Oberon.

He floated out of the persona’s arms and admired the amount of blood now floating in the water. Sure, half of that was probably his, but his wounds were rapidly closing. The Shadow on the other hand seemed very displeased.

“Minato says to switch roles!” Teddie shouted, “Chie is on shadow duty, Yosuke go save Yukiko!”

He looked to Minato in shock, who gave him one of his signature blank faces and a nod.

Chie swam to him, dejected. He gave her a reassuring thumbs up, which cheered her up a little. She flashed a return thumbs up as they swam past each other and kicked off the other’s feet. He added a current for an additional boost towards their new objectives.

Tendrils did their best to stop him, but he rode the currents around their attacks, severing any that strayed too close. He landed on top of Yukiko's cage, nearly toppling it with his momentum. He slashed two more tendrils before Oberon caught up with him and he could finally turn his attention to his actual goal.

Yukiko.

She looked at him in a mix of dejection and curiosity. He gave her his best smile.

He let himself sink along the outside of the cage until he was level with her. He held out his hand. She shook her head and curled back into a fetal position.

No, this wouldn’t work. If Chie couldn’t do it this way, what made him think he could? What could he possibly do that she couldn’t? The two had years and years of friendship, and all he had was one measly date…

He blinked. Duh.

He started flailing his limbs around in an uncontrollable fashion.

**“I can’t believe you actually got me to dance.”**

**“Me either.”**

**Yukiko pouted as she eyed the game suspiciously. She hadn’t expected to lose the bet. She tried to calm her nerves as Yosuke scrolled through the songs to select one for her.**

**“Ooh, this one is off Risette’s new album, it’s perfect!” he said happily, and she rolled her eyes.**

**“I hope you don’t think I’m going to dance like her,” she warned. “I’ve never even heard the song before.”**

**“Oh, come on, the dances are made to be easy,” He protested.**

**She ignored him as the song started and a back arrow came down the screen at her. She jumped on it with both feet, causing him to chuckle. She felt her face redden, and prepared for the next arrows. They were both forward and right, and she realized she was only supposed to use one foot on each arrow. She jumped on them with a triumphant grin.**

**“Aww, I like the worm girl,” Yosuke mock protested.**

**“Too bad,” she shot back, moving around the dance pad to copy the screen’s instructions. “Cause I’ma get the high score!”**

**“Sure you are.”**

**She was fully aware he had put the game on easy, but she soon found herself working up a sweat. The onslaught of arrows seemed neverending. However, she found herself getting into the swing of things and found herself swaying with the music.**

**“Next add the arms!” Yosuke encouraged, flailing his arms uncontrollably.**

**She looked up in shock and felt her foot slip from beneath her. She collapsed onto the ground, but Yosuke hadn’t let up on his ‘dance moves’.**

**She couldn’t help but laugh** at his stupid grin.

Yukikko blinked at her laughter. What was she doing? She stood, defying the water’s weight.

He finished his ‘dance’ with an exaggerated flourish that had his hand through the cage's bars. She stumbled forward, fighting off the trembling of her legs.

How messed up was she that she hadn’t done this sooner? The month alone must have done more than she thought. Chie had held the door open for her yet again, and she had missed it. She would have to atone for that. But this door… This one she wouldn’t miss. It might be the only one she would ever get. So many people had opened doors for her. So many people wanted her to succeed. All she had to do was accept their help. She owed them at least that much.

If she had to face her demons, so be it.

She stumbled forward, falling into his outstretched hand.

He gave her a bright smile and the darkness in the room seemed to lessen. It was going to be alright.

His eyes widened as she felt a warmth on her chest. His mouth opened limply as bubbles poured from his throat, followed by spurts of blood. She looked down in horror to see a tendril of darkness had pushed its way through his chest and his warm blood was spraying onto her, quickly dissolving back into the water.

The creature, no, the demon, who had taken her voice cackled.

“Oh, you look so good in red Yukiko.”

All reason left her mind as she threw herself against the cage wall closest to the demon. She had no idea what she was shouting, only that she was sure nothing was more evil in the universe.

And that she was nothing like that creature.

* * *

Chie jumped off a tendril in frustration, staring down the shadow. She wasn’t suited to fighting it at all. The heat was unbearable if she tried to close in for kicks, her ice attacks melted before they reached it, and her kicks were far worse cutting tools than one of the boys' blades. She felt a pang of guilt. The only reason she was fighting the shadow was because she had failed to help Yukiko…

No. That thinking wasn’t helping. Focusing on her task was helping. All they needed to do was trust Minato’s plans and...

The shadow stopped moving and cackled. She took the opportunity to glance at the other fight and froze.

Yosuke was dying.

It was surreal fighting with persona. Pain became more of an inconvenience than a problem. However, there seemed to only be a certain level of healing that could be done with their current abilities. Scratches could be mended. Burns could be healed. Those were easy, surface level wounds. Minato had managed to heal his broken bones, but that had been the extent of his strength.

Yosuke had his lungs punctured.

Chie’s mind went blank for a moment. She was distantly aware of Yukiko screaming bloody murder, but it was Teddie’s voice that brought her back into the action.

“Defend Minato!”

Defend Minato. That was something she could do. She could depend on him for a miracle.

She changed Persephone to her hell form and created an ice dome around Minato, who was exuding a deep blue power as he slowly brought his fingers up to his head like a fake gun.

Tendrils rocketed towards him, but she shot between them with all the speed she could. She didn’t know what was happening. She didn’t know why Minato was so important. But doing this was better than nothing, and she desperately wanted to sit still and dumbly look at Yosuke.

Her muscles ached from the effort despite her switching back to her spring form, and it was only now that she fully appreciated how much Minato had done in the fight. The attacks were constant and she could barely keep track of where she was as she desperately tried to keep them at bay. If she had tried to fight this off from the start she would have easily been killed by now.

The sound of a gunshot rippled from the ice dome, and after a second a pulse of light radiated from it. As it hit her, she felt all her injuries and physical exhaustion wash away. More importantly, as the pulse hit Yosuke, the gaping hole in his chest closed in an instant.

She kicked off the ice dome to reach him as fast as possible, relieved when his persona appeared above him to help fight off the tendrils.

“Minato's in danger!” Teddie cried in horror, and she was suddenly faced with the sight of a tendril him out of a newly fractured ice dome. She kicked off Yukiko's cage and cut him free with all the speed she could manage. She grabbed his limp body and dove back into the dome.

Not again. Not now. There was too much at stake. The fight wasn’t over. They needed him. She channeled as much healing power as she could into him, forcing him awake, but she felt her grip on Persephone nearly slip away. She was on her last reserves.

Minato’s eyes shot open, and he pushed her to avoid a tendril that followed her into the hole. They hit opposite walls of the ice dome, but in a single motion, he bounced off and severed the tendril with a flash of his sword. Her eyes widened. He had done that without his persona.

They quickly pushed themselves out of the dome, and Minato urgently pointed to Yosuke, who was fending off an onslaught while being forced back from the cage.

Chie rushed to his aid, and with their combined effort managed to make their way to Minato, who had retreated to the entryway.

“Minato looks like he’s going to open the door to drain the water!” Teddie announced, and Chie felt the urge to slap herself for not thinking of doing so earlier. She and Yosuke took over the defense. A card appeared in front of their leader, only to vanish before he could crush it. The second time he tried though, a bull she had never seen before appeared just long enough to blow the door open with a headbutt.

They were all swept out of the room as water rushed through the opening, and after a brief coughing fit Minato shouted orders.

“I can’t fight the water, close the door!”

She and Yosuke acted immediately, using their combined strength to force the opening closed despite the immense water pressure. Their persona instantly vanished, although she wasn’t sure if she had done it intentionally or if that was her limit.

There was a sudden sense of silence, despite the heaving and panting going on between them. Minato’s plan hadn't been to drain the room. It was a tactical retreat. As her entire body shook in fatigue, she became deadly aware of how needed the break was.

“... So what's the plan?” Yosuke eventually asked. Minato trembled as he gave his answer.

“We go home.”

She blinked as she looked at him. What did he say? He didn’t mean that. They couldn’t leave. If they gave up now Yukiko would…

She felt numb as she limped towards him. A slap echoed through the empty halls as soon as he was within reach. There was no thought behind it. Purely her body doing what it knew it had to.

“You take that back!” She screamed in his face. He looked at her without expression. Another slap echoed. He didn’t fight it, but she didn’t care. “Don’t look at me like that!” She demanded. “Don’t look at me like this doesn’t matter. Don’t act like we aren’t going right back in right now! We are saving her!”

“I can’t stop you from going back in.” He said with shocking stability. “But doing so is suicide. I can’t even summon my persona anymore. And I think you are on the edge as well. Yosuke seems to have a little bit left, but he can't heal so he'll just drown. She is also rejecting her shadow more than ever. If we go back in we all die. If we leave now we cut our losses. It’s just how it is.”

He looked… helpless. Minato. Helpless. How ridiculous. She trembled. This wasn’t right. This wasn’t how things worked. They had worked hard. They had done everything right. They were supposed to win. They were the heroes. No one was supposed to give up. No one was supposed to die.

“I’m going in anyways,” she declared, turning towards the door. A tarot card appeared in front of her, but it vanished before she could crush it. She tried again. And again. It was a fluke. Next time she would summon...

She felt her knees hit the water coated floor. Her elbows hit the ground as she noticed the reflection in the water was screaming in anguish. That reflection was an admission that this was reality. She splashed it away, but it came back. She broke the reflection again. And again. It needed to stay away.

After what felt like hours, she forced herself to break the cycle and sat herself up against the wall. She immediately regretted it. This view was infinitely worse. Minato hadn’t moved since she last slapped him, and she could see the marks on the side of his face. Yosuke was visibly biting his lips to stop himself from crying, but tears were flowing freely. Teddie didn’t seem to know how to process anything. He was looking between each of them with an increasingly sad expression, looking for an answer.

She pulled a knee to her chest and hugged it. It was the only thing she could think to do.

They had lost.

* * *

Dojima sighed into his morning coffee. Minato’s interrogation had come up with nothing they could truly go off of. The few leads they had gathered were running dry. Felt he was bashing his head against a brick wall here.

He heard a knock at his door. He looked up to see Adachi peeking his head into his office.

“Uh, sir?” Adachi asked with uncertainty. “There is something you’re going to want to see.”

“What’s that?” Dojima sighed.

“It's another murder… the Amagi girl.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And there is the climax of the first arc... congrats to @Taureine for guessing it right. I hope I gave enough foreshadowing that this would happen, to the point there isn't tonal whiplash. This was actually one of the first plot points I made, but actually writing it was something else. 
> 
> I'm sorry to all the Yukiko fans, I also love her as a character. I stayed faithful to her my first playthrough without regrets. I actually think she is such a good character, she can have immense narrative weight even while dead, and I fully intend on showcasing that. I might also make a short story of Yosuke/Yukiko if people are interested. I found the dynamic really interesting. 
> 
> For anyone interested, Yukiko's persona was Oizys.
> 
> And as a final note, I'm thinking about marking this as completed after a wrap up chapter or two, and then moving onto the next arc as a new story. It feels very... final as is. I wouldn't mind keeping it as just one long fic either though. So i'm throwing it to you guys, and what you would find easiest to follow/would prefer. Let me know here: https://strawpoll.com/uaab1z45c


	15. As the snow melts

Yukiko Amagi was found dead, hanging from a TV antenna.

Minato attended school for the assembly. He felt he needed to. If Sayoko complained about it, so be it.

Chie skipped school. He didn’t blame her.

He and Yosuke said nothing to each other at the assembly or before class.

He took diligent notes.

He ate lunch alone.

He took more notes.

He packed his bag to leave.

It was a numb cycle. One he had done a million times before. One that he had down to a science. The variations mattered little. Kendo practice. Violin lessons. It was all the same. Some things looked better on college apps. Some were more numbing than others. Some he preferred without any real reason. He couldn’t go to the movie theater or arcade in the small town, unfortunately. But it didn’t matter. It all amounted to the same thing.

No matter where it took place it was the same. He was an idiot for expecting anything different.

It was just how his life was.

“Got a minute?”

He stopped packing his bag and looked up to see Yosuke standing over him. His puffy eyes said everything about how he was handling Yukiko.

Minato nodded. Things like Yukiko didn’t bother him, but leaving school now or an hour from now was the same realistically.

Yosuke led him to the rooftop and looked over the ledge of the school. Minato stayed near the exit. Yosuke eventually broke the silence.

“Hey Minato,” Yosuke said, again breaking the silence. “I’ve gotta ask something. And I want you to be honest. You promise to be honest with me?”

“Sure.”

“How likely do you think it is that I’m the killer?”

Minato hadn’t expected that. He had passively considered the question of course, nut he wasn’t sure why it was coming up now. But he didn’t see any reason to lie.

“About a ten percent chance.”

“It’s about twenty percent for you.” Yosuke admitted.

Minato nodded. “That low?”

Yosuke nodded back. “Sorry for bringing it up, but… It had to come out in the open. No more sneaking around with those thoughts. It’s things like that that weaken us. The more we can talk about things, the stronger we’ll become. If there is a twenty percent chance it’s one of us, I’m willing to push that eighty percent as much as we can. Besides,If you were the killer, you could have easily killed us all. That means even if you are the killer, there is something keeping you from killing us that I can rely on.”

“Smart,” Minato agreed.

“It’s weird actually,” Yosuke continued. “Seeing people die. It makes you realize how fragile you are. Death really can happen at any time. At any place. For any reason.”

“I agree,” was all Minato said. He didn’t know what else he could say.

“I’m not giving up,” Yosuke said, still looking over the ledge of the building. “Before, I used Saki as an excuse to investigate. It was still a tragedy, but it wasn’t… real. At least, it never hit me what her death meant. It felt like… she just didn’t show up for work. One day at a time. It was almost easy if I’m being honest. But this time It’s different. It's real. It’s urgent. And then when I was hit with the fact that Yukiko died… Saki’s death hit me too. It… well… I still haven’t slept.”

He shook his head before continuing.

“Whatever we’re up against, it’s killed some of the people I care about most. But I’m not taking it lying down. I’m going to face it. I guess what I called you up here for is to ask… What are your plans moving forward?”

Minato shrugged. “I don’t know.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

He shrugged again. “I don’t know. I… think I’m supposed to go back to school.”

Yosuke shook his head. “That’s not what I mean and you know it.”

Minato shook his head. “But it is what I mean.”

“You’re really just going to give up?”

“Give up on what? She’s dead. That’s the end of that. It’s time to walk away.”

Yosuke looked at him for a while before turning back over the ledge.

“I didn’t know this would hit you that hard.”

Minato felt like he was slapped. Hit HIM that hard? He had slept. He hadn’t cried. He was fine. This was all stuff he had handled before. He was an old pro at this point. He threw his bag on the ground in anger, and took two steps towards Yosuke before stopping in shock.

He looked at the bag. Why had he done that? He suddenly felt himself tremble. He was fine. This wasn’t affecting him.

“Minato, if-” Yosuke said in shock before swallowing his words. This snapped Minato back into reality as he realized he had seen his fit. As calmly as he could, he picked up his bag, trying to ignore it’s existence.

“I shouldn’t have said,” Yosuke apologized. “This is a lot and… I'm just coping as best as I can. But-”

“Do you have a goal?”

Yosuke blinked at the interruption. He scoffed internally. Of course he was going to interrupt. He couldn’t stand the pity.

“Yes. Well, no. Kinda.”

Minato nodded to himself. It was a start. “Find a goal and we’ll come up with a plan. I’m good at solving problems but… I can’t find the problem to solve. If you give me one, I’ll solve it for you.”

“You’re really gonna help me?” Yosuke asked. Minato nodded. He grinned. “You’re a tough dude Minato. I really appreciate it.”

“I’ve got nothing better to do.”

“Sheesh, don’t try to sugarcoat it too much.”

“Sorry, I’ll be more blunt next time.”

He turned to the stairs back to the school but hesitated.

He felt the bond between them grow and felt his lips flicker towards a smile.

“And Yosuke. Thanks. I needed this.”

He hadn’t lost everything. Not this time.

Not yet.

* * *

Minako felt the shift before she saw it.

Blood covered the ground of Paulownia Mall. Coffins littered the ground and benches, taking the place of people who occupied the spaces just moments before. An ominous green tint covered all of reality. A darkness seemed to creep in as all electronics simultaneously shut off.

There was no simulation. This was real. This was the dark hour.

...but it had been in the middle of the day.

She reached for the Evoker hidden under her skirt. She was happy she had made a habit of taking it everywhere, just in case.

She began moving through the mall, securing the perimeter. Before she left for the dorm, she needed to make sure the people here were safe.

As she crept her way through the coffin filled arcade, a gunshot rang cut through the silence. She took off towards it before she fully registered the direction. Were Mitsuru or Yukari here? Did they need her help?

She heard screams of pain coming from the Escapade, and rushed towards it. The door was locked, but with the enhanced strength granted by the dark hour, she easily broke the locks as she kicked it open.

“Cybele!”

In the time it took for her persona to fully materialize, she finished her mental sweep of the area. The coffin layout indicated only staff were present, with the upstairs vacant and several people behind the bar. All of that was to be expected.

However, she hadn’t expected the middle-aged man gasping for breath in the middle of the dance floor, blood gushing from a bullet wound that ran through his chest.

“Samarecarm!” She ordered, and Cybele unleashed a torrent of healing energy on the civilian. She nodded to herself. That was easily enough energy to heal a herd of elephants from the brink of death. It was a little overkill, but she enjoyed the opportunity to throw her weight around now and again.

However, her satisfaction turned to shock. The hole in the man’s chest didn’t go away. What on earth…

“W-Who are you?” The man gasped, coughing up blood.

“Don’t waste your energy,” she ordered, “All you need to know for now is I’m someone who is trying to save your life. Tell me what happened.”

“T-three of them. The pale skeleton man. He shot me.”

“With just a gun?”

“Just a gun?! What’s that supposed to mean? Are you minimizing this! I’m dying!”

She tried to curb her frustration. “You wouldn’t be if it were just a gun. Please, try to remember anything else.”

He began gagging, and she dumped more healing into him to clear his airways and replenish the lost blood.

“I won’t let you die,” she said as convincingly as she could. “Now please tell me what happened.”

“I-I was preparing for my shift, and then everything was… it just turned into this. Everyone was a coffin- and- and- are you an angel? Am I dead? Did the grim reaper shoot me? Oh god, am I dead?”

She rolled her eyes internally as she poured more healing into him. “I know you are trying to figure things out, and that you are in shock, but I need to focus for me. You are alive. I’m going to help you through this. But I need to know who did this to you.”

As soon as she said that, the dark hour ended.

She gasped as her persona shattered, the sudden change in her senses hitting her like a bucket of ice water. She couldn’t dwell on it though, seeing that she was suddenly leaning over a shot man in the middle of a locked business. The other employees looked at her in shock.

“What are you waiting for, call an ambulance!” She shouted, making them jump into action. “You there, behind the counter, bring me whatever you have with the highest alcohol content and a rag. You, bucket of water, make sure it’s clean! You, I don’t see you calling the hospital! And YOU!”

She turned back to the shot man, who was crying in pain.

“Do you remember anything that just happened?”

He shook his head in panic and she cursed under her breath. Of course, he’d lose his memory after the dark hour ended. It was just her luck.

“Ok, then I need you to relax and breathe as calmly as you can. We’ll make it through this.”

As convincing as she sounded, she had no idea what was going on. Guns didn’t work during the dark hour. Guns didn’t hurt in ways that couldn’t be healed. The dark hour didn’t even exist outside of artificial means.

Whatever was happening, she knew her life was about to shift drastically.

* * *

Naoto Shirogane gently rocked in their hammock, buried in layers of blankets with three books tucked by their side. None of them quite up to the standard of the current one they were reading through.

Since they became a real detective, they didn’t have as much free time for detective novels. It was truly a shame. Many fantastic works of literature were waiting to be consumed by a curious mind like their own.

“Naoto!” a voice called, as a family butler entered the study. “Your grandfather has a new assignment for you. Directly from Senior Commissioner Danuja.”

Naoto sighed and looked at the unopened books. Work has been quite busy recently. Perhaps a vacation was in order...

“Can he not solve this case himself?”

“He thought you might take particular interest in this one.”

“Oh? And why is that?”

“Triple homicide, unknown cause of death, extremely unusual modus operandi.”

Naoto pursed their lips. It certainly did pique their interest. “How unique?”

“They are all found hanging from telephone poles.”

They sighed. It seemed the books would have to wait.

* * *

Adachi whistled as he looked over his notes. This interview was full of surprises.

Chie Satonaka. Interesting girl. She willingly skipped school to spend her day sitting in an interrogation room, giving everything she knew to the authorities in hopes that it could help in some way. If the world were fair, it probably would have. But there was a problem with her plan…

“Well,” he finally said after she finished telling her story. “This is all certifiably insane.”

She looked down in despair. “You- you don’t believe me?”

He chuckled nervously at her watering eyes. Maybe he had to be a little more tactful, considering she thought she had just been forced to leave her best friend to die in an alternate dimension. Things like that tended to take a toll on people.

“I didn’t say that,” he clarified, “But there is no way I can write this in an official report. Not only would it discredit you if we can find some way for you to help, but I would be putting my career on the line. I mean, a talking bear that lives in the TV and helps teenagers fight demons? That’s a lot to accept.”

She shivered and grabbed her arms. Her voice was trembling at this point.

“So… even though you, believe me, there's nothing you can do?”

He sighed. What was he supposed to say? As a cop, he was expected to make her feel safe. Maybe... He snapped his fingers. Of course!

“Hey, so you think someone is throwing people inside the TV to kill them right?” He asked. She blinked and nodded. “And you can only summon your person thing inside the TV?”

“Persona. And yeah. Only inside.”

“Then you are going to need something to protect yourself, aren’t you?”

He hummed happily to himself as he opened a drawer and dropped its contents onto the desk between them. Her eyes widened, letting him know this was most certainly a good idea.

A 38 caliber revolver, standard issue for officers. Highly illegal for someone like her to carry.

“If you are going off chasing a murderer,” he pointed out, “they might come after you. If you can’t defend yourself until you are thrown in, and they know that, they might come after you without throwing you in. Gotta make sure you’re defended.”

She stared at the handgun in what seemed like pain.

“W-why are you giving this to me?” She whispered. “I-I don’t want to be a part of this. Even if it were legal for me to carry this, I wouldn’t know how to use it.”

“Oh, it’s actually pretty easy,” he chuckled. “Besides, I promised Minato I’d do everything I can to help.”

She looked at him in shock. “Minato? How-”

“He’s already talked to me, that’s why I believe you,” he explained. “We already agreed to help each other. I didn’t get all the details though, so this has been extremely useful for me. I think you’ve done a really good job so far Chie. And I feel really bad asking you to keep going for me. But you kids are the only ones I know who I can trust in the TV world. If there is another victim, I’m going to be trusting you. And if I’m going to be trusting you…” He slid the gun closer to her. “I’m going to trust you.”

Her face seemed to go blank as she reached out and took the gun. Her shaky hand barely pulled it off the table before looking at him.

“Do-Do I get a holster? So I can carry it I mean.”

He smiled and nodded. “Sure thing.”

* * *

“Welcome to the velvet room.”

Lavenza sat next to her master as she examined her guest. He was a young red-headed man of very clear strength. However, the state of his heart was in complete disarray.

The Velvet Room had taken the form of a carriage moving across an endless battlefield, the back of the cart opened so both them and their guest could see out the back. Corpses littered the hellscape, swords, and spears sticking out from mangled remains. Deep blue flames danced across the battlefield, never fully destroying what lay burning. Blood was an omnipresent matter of fact, staining everything in sight down to the seats they were in.

Despite this extreme, she was struggling to subdue her excitement. She was the last of the siblings to be assigned a guest, but it was going to be worth the wait. The honor of taking care of a guest was the ultimate sign of trust from their master, and an attendant providing assistance to them was fulfilling their reason for being. The others often engaged in long conversations about their jobs, conversations she was going to finally be able to join in.

As her guest came to, the cart shook, bouncing him from his seat and hitting his head on the roof. He grumbled in discomfort before scowling at the two of them.

“Who the fuck are the two of you?” He snarled.

Lavenza looked to her master in surprise. She had prepared her entire life for this day, but it was already going off-script. Her master seemed unphased, however, and simply chuckled at the profanity.

“My name is Igor, and this is my assistant Lavenza.”

“Pleased to meet you,” she said with a slight bow.

He scoffed. “The fuck is a kid like her supposed to assist you on? Is she even old enough to carry your prune juice without spilling it from her sippy cup?”

“Master!” Lavenza gasped. The sheer disrespect from the guest was abhorrent! Again her master simply shrugged it off.

“I can assure you that Lavenza is more than qualified for a great many tasks,” he said while maintaining his signature smile. “Despite her youth, she is quite a remarkable young woman.”

Lavenza beamed in pride, despite the guest rolling his eyes. Good. The social hierarchy had to be established early on into the relationship to guarantee optimal conditions for growth. The guest scoffed.

“Ahh, so you’re one of THOSE types of old men. ‘Get em before they have standards’ your motto is it?”

Lavenza moved across the cart in an instant, the back of her hand striking her guest across their face, knocking him off his seat.

“Know your place,” she spat as he cried out in pain.

“The fuck kinda kid are you?” He demanded. “Fucking bullets don’t hurt that much!”

Another backhand.

“The fuck was that one for?”

Another crack.

“Watch your language,” she demanded.

“Aren’t you supposed to tell me what I did wrong before you slap me again?”

Another crack.

“Perhaps,” She admitted.

She slapped him again.

“What was that one even for you goddamn psycho!” He screamed, rubbing his face in pain.

“... I’m not quite sure, to be honest.” She admitted. “I may have got carried away. I suppose you could call it a slip of the hand.”

Her guest looked to her master, desperate for some sort of relief. Lucky for him, her master was a merciful one.

“Lavenza, I do believe your point was made,” He said with a chuckle. She nodded and returned to her seat.

“This is a place between mind and matter, between dream and reality,” Her master began, but their guest held up their hand to stop them.

“How do I leave?” He asked.

“You are of course free to leave, at any time,” Her master assured him. “However, be warned, you will be forgoing the potential hidden within you. I do recommend at least staying to hear what I have to say.”

She scoffed. As if anyone would simply reject the wild card. It was the ultimate destiny. A blessing of fate that marked greatness in all future endeavors. The idea that-

“Later!” The young man shouted, flipping both middle fingers at them before jumping out of the cart, vanishing instantly.

She couldn’t believe what she just saw. She began pinching herself.

“And what might you be doing?” Her master asked her.

“I seem to be dreaming,” She responded, pinching harder. “I-it seems I am having a nightmare where my guest has rejected the notion of the Velvet room. And… It was likely my fault.”

“Oh, you played your role perfectly,” her master chuckled. “Everything in this room happens for a reason. When he is ready to return, he will. He is a rather unique guest, one only you may guide. I ask, however, that you be patient.”

She looked out of the wagon in pain. Despite her master’s words of comfort, she couldn’t shake the feeling that her world had just crumbled around her.

What's more, she feared for the fate of the young man she was supposed to be guiding. But there was nothing more to do about it.

Thus was the nature of destiny.

* * *

Ikutsuki whistled as he scrolled through the week’s reports. Some people still preferred paper reports. While they had their place, he found them wholly impractical. Not only was flipping through physical paper an absolute pain, but they created an awful clutter.

Most importantly, they were easily seen by prying eyes.

A computer was never secure. However, with the highest security clearance in the Kirijo group, he was working with security rivaling that of top US military personnel. Millions had gone into their latest security update. For all intents and purposes, he could treat it as secure.

He smiled at one of his reports. Of course, there was another advantage to electronic reports. They could be automated, so he was the only one to ever know of the information. No one else had to sift through the information he wanted to know. Two men could only keep a secret if one was dead.

He chuckled to himself. It seemed it was finally time to put things into motion.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this one seems a bit scattered, but the faster I can set up the new arc, the faster things can refocus.
> 
> As far as Naoto, I am still debating how exactly I want to handle the pronouns she uses for herself. In the original Japanese (in which terms like 'I' are gendered), she doesn't use feminine to refer to herself until the last rank in the social link. If you have strong opinions let me know, I honestly just pushed the decision back.
> 
> Also, yes, that is the ever polite Mr. Minazuki, according to cannon he was both a wild card who rejected the velvet room and chilling in Inaba during the investigation, so I took the liberty of giving him an attendant.
> 
> A quick thank you to everyone who has stuck around this whole time, and hope you have a great week :)


	16. To the bequeathed

Rise walked from the stage and the usual swarm of attendants surrounded her.

“Excellent job Risette, I couldn’t have imagined a better show if I tried!”

“Risette, Would you like a bottle of water?”

“Risette, regarding your dance lessons tomorrow, they have been moved up to 8 am.”

“Risette, beat four of measure thirty-seven, song three. You were almost an entire half step sharp.”

She ignored them. She needed to get to her dressing room. She wasn’t in the mood for this.

“Risette, your dietician has changed the contents of your lunch's salad. You will be missing croutons for the next three weeks.”

“Risette, we may need to change the routine for your fifth song. On stage, it doesn’t pop as well as in dress rehearsals.”

“Risette, how do you feel about a press briefing?”

She wouldn’t scream at them. She wouldn’t scream at them. She wouldn’t scream at them.

“Risette, we are currently looking at roughly three thousand for autographs tonight. How many will you be able to get through?”

“Rise, your grandmother is on the phone for you.”

She stopped and finally faced the sea of drones that were following her. The last voice had come from Inoue, who was holding out a cellphone. She took it from her manager and held it up to her ear.

“Gran-gran?” She asked. Inoue gave her a thumbs up and began shooing away the rest of her attendants. She felt relief wash over her. She had to admit, it was a pretty genius idea to get some of the attention off her.

“Rise darling, is that you?”

She blinked as she heard her actual grandmother through the phone. She thought he had just pulled a fast one.

“Yeah it’s me Gran-gran. What’s going on?”

“Oh, it was just about Ryuki’s birthday, and I was wondering if you were going to be there. You always were his favorite cousin. Rise? Is something funny?”

She couldn’t have stopped the laughter if she tried. Was she going to show up at her cousin’s birthday? She called over that? She shook her head.

“Gran-gran, I’d love to, but you know how busy I am. I don’t think I could even if I fight for it.”

“Oh, what a shame. I guess we’ll just have to catch you at Aoki’s get together.”

She rolled her eyes. “I don’t think I’ll be able to make that one either.”

“Oh? What a shame. Well, I suppose I’ll leave you to get back to your friends then.”

She winced at the unintentional gut punch. Friends?

She looked back at the swarm of assistants. Did… Risette have friends? No. That was the wrong question.

Did Rise have friends?

“Risette, your next appearance is in ten minutes!” One of the drones shouted, causing her to jump. That's right, the dressing room!

“Gran-gran, do you mind if I call you back later tonight? I really am busy. But… I do want to talk to you.”

“Of course sweetie. You can call me any time you like.”

* * *

Minato returned to his hospital room and wasted no time pulling out his books to begin studying. Just because he was fighting shadows didn’t mean he could fall behind in his studies. The urgency had passed. He could stand to breathe.

However, he found his mind drifting. What exactly would Yosuke set as their goal? Was it going to be revenge? Stopping the murderer on their own? Helping the authorities? Regardless, he was going to have to have plans for each of them. However, within the hour a familiar feminine voice snapped him out of his thoughts.

“And where have you been?”

With a glance he saw Sayoko, arm crossed in his room’s doorway.

“School,” he said simply.

She examined him closely before nodding.

“Get out of my hospital.”

He looked back up in shock. She laughed.

“Oh, you thought you could just keep doing whatever you want and nothing would happen?” She shook her head. “If you aren’t going to use your bed, we’re going to give it to someone who will. Besides, you clearly don’t need it.”

She hesitated before continuing. “Also, the higher-ups are conflicted on how much we should study what happened to you. Half of them think you should walk away. Half think you should never set foot outside the hospital. Of course, I have no interest in taking care of a kid as troublesome as yourself forever.”

He nodded. Her words were harsh, but the meaning was clear. If he could walk out he should, because he might not be able to later. He closed his book and began gathering his things. She scoffed.

He stopped. "I wasn't expecting you'd miss me that much."

She raised her eyebrows. "And who said I'd miss you?"

“You’ll have plenty of time to boss me around,” he said as he continued packing. “I’ll need to come back around to grab my TV. And after that, I’ll need to come by for checkups right?”

Her eyes narrowed. “Checkups? I think you're missing the bigger picture here. Honestly, shouldn’t a boy your age be busy chasing girls rather than wasting a nurse’s time?”

He stood up with his now packed bag and she moved out from the doorway. Rather than walking out the door he walked to her and checked his phone.

“Being troublesome isn’t any fun if there isn’t anyone to scold me afterward. You seem to fit the bill. It’s currently Saturday. How does Friday sound for a check-up? Off the record of course.”

She smiled slightly. “Oh, are you asking for a private examination? Maybe I was wrong and you are chasing girls after all? Hmm… Perhaps if you were a part-timer.”

“A shame that I’m not then,” he said, holding out a hand. She shook it with a genuine smile as he felt their bond strengthen.

“Don't be sorry. Things are much better this way.”

* * *

Minako looked between the members of S.E.E.S. as she gave her report. None of them had experienced anything, which meant the dark hour had only occurred around her.

“A temporary and localized dark hour, along with an unknown assailant was groundbreaking information,” Ikutsuki said with a contemplative smile. “However, we have no leads as to who was involved, or if it was indeed another person. It could just as easily be some form of shadow we have not encountered before. We also don't know how the dark hour was being simulated. I think our best course of action will be to wait for more information to reveal itself before taking action.”

“With all due respect,” Mitsuru objected, “I believe we must tackle this issue with all the urgency it demands. We have all trained for this for years, it would be irresponsible to let our preparation go to waste.”

Aigis looked to Minako, and after she nodded, spoke up.

“I believe that if Minako believes it is urgent, we should treat it as such.”

Ikutsuki chuckled. “Well, who am I to stand in the way when you kids are so enthusiastic Very well, I endorse this investigation wholeheartedly.”

The interaction seemed wrong to Minako, and it only took a look around the group to figure out why.

Yukari was silent. That never seemed to turn out well.

“Yukari, can you let me into your room? I think I forgot a book in there,” She asked, drawing confused looks from everyone.

“Now?” Yukari asked in shock. Minako chuckled and looked as embarrassed as she could.

“Well, I was planning on studying right after the meeting. Besides, now that the report has been given, we aren’t needed for the next part of the discussion. It is planning how to approach the problem, and we’re just the muscle.”

“I disagree,” Mitsuru said with a smile, “You are both valuable members with unique perspectives. You are of course free to slip away for a moment, but I would like both of you to participate when you return.”

“Thanks!” She said enthusiastically, dragging away Yukari up the dorm stairs despite her protests.

“What’s this about?” Yukari whispered once they were out of earshot. She let go of her friend.

“What do you know that no one else does?”

Yukari blinked, and she pursed her lips in an obvious internal struggle. She exhaled before speaking slowly and quietly.

“I might know about other persona users.”

Minako felt her eyes widen before she burst out laughing.

“Yukari that happens to every girl! I might have something for that in my room here.” Yukari blinked in confusion, but she pulled her close and whispered into her ear.

“Cameras in every room.”

Yukari went pale as she released her, and barely resisted looking for the devices. “Yeah, maybe you’re right, I was being silly… I’ll follow you.”

She smiled and nodded. "Yup! And then we can search your room for the book, and then we'll go right back down. Even if it is just to keep up appearances for Mitsuru."

* * *

_No more communication. We might be bugged. Be careful. I’ll see what I can do about helping you._  
_\- 4:13 PM_

Yosuke looked at the text for a long time. He didn’t like it at all. Who would be listening in on their conversation? No, what were they talking about that was worth listening in on? Just how serious was what was happening?

He tossed his phone onto his bed before it began buzzing again. He rolled his eyes before making his way back to it and picking it up. Chie’s name showed up on the caller id.

“Hello?” He asked as he answered.

“We have to do this.”

He paused. “Do what Chie?”

“We have to solve this case.”

He frowned. Her voice was unusually calm.

“I agree,” he said diplomatically, “But what’s with the tone?”

“I almost gave up,” She said. “I’m sorry. I went to the police and I talked to them. They can’t do anything. Don’t worry, the officer was nice enough to take everything off the record. We have to be the ones to solve what’s going on. You’re with me right?”

Yosuke took a moment to absorb the information before answering. “I’m happy everything worked out. And yeah. I’m with you.”

A moment of silence followed. Chie sniffled.

“How was the assembly? Was it good enough for her?”

He laughed. “Of course not. But it was the best one I’ve ever seen. There were clowns you know.”

Chie broke down in a mix between laughing and crying. “You aren’t supposed to make me laugh you jerk.”

“Then why are you talking to me? You know I’m gonna try to make you feel better.”

Chie laughed a little longer and he let it play out.

“Thanks, Yosuke.”

“Hey, not a problem.”

As she hung up he heard a knock at the door. He sighed. What was it now?

He opened the door to see his father with a box.

“This came in the mail for you,” he said simply, handing it over. He looked it over. He hadn’t ordered anything, but it was definitely addressed to him. His dad turned to go, then remembered something.

“Oh, by the way, I might need you to pick up another shift Thursday,” he said. “Kyoko is using a vacation day.”

“Yeah, no prob,” he dismissed. The box was remarkably light.

“I appreciate it.”

He closed the door as they parted ways, grabbing a knife and sitting on his bed. He opened it easily, rolling his eyes as he noticed it just contained another box. However, it had its own delivery slip that was… he nearly dropped the knife.

It was addressed to Yukiko.

He looked over the label more closely and saw that special instructions were included on the slip. Give it to me if you can. If you can’t it’s yours.

His hands shook as he cut the tape. His mind went numb as he opened the box. It was **a giant stuffed frog?**

**Yosuke scratched the back of his head in confusion as Yukiko hugged it tightly.**

**“Of all the souvenirs in Port Island, I can’t believe you’re taking home a stuffed frog from an arcade.” He motioned to the street they were walking down, which contained something both a jewelry store and an actual gift shop. “There is a lot to choose from here.”**

**She looked at him sternly. “Nope. We earned him. Mr. Jiraiya is mine now.” She held it out in front of her so they were facing each other. “He kinda looks like you if you squint.”**

**His pained wince caused her to giggle. “Hopefully you have to squint pretty hard. Well, if that’s what you want, who am I to stand in your way?”**

**She let the frog drop to her side and grew quiet. She stopped walking and looked down.**

**“Thank you.”**

**“Huh?”**

**“Thank you for putting up with me tonight. I had a lot of fun.”**

**He couldn’t believe his eyes. Was she… blushing?**

**He walked up to her, and he could see her breathing get faster. His mind was going wild. No way this was happening.**

**“Hey, I had a lot of fun too,” he said. “I feel like I should be the one thanking you.”**

**“Oh, that’s good.”**

**She rocked back and forth on her feet until she was leaning on him. He briefly wondered if his heart beating this fast would kill him. However, somehow his arm made its way around her. She looked up and before he knew it-**

He closed the box. He stood up and began pacing. Oh hell no. He was not ready for this. This was not happening. He looked around the room for something to distract him. His chest seemed to be imploding on itself as he realized everything but the box seemed to fade into the wallpaper. He opened it again and took out the stuffed frog with shaky hands.

“Just you and me now, huh Jiraiya?” he said as his voice cracked. As vision became watery, he noticed a note in the box. Realizing there was no stopping himself, he hugged Jiraiya as he picked it up. It was only one line, but it was enough to break him.

_Why did we ever come back?_

* * *

Upon entering his room at the inn, Minato was immediately aware it wasn’t how he left it.

Everything was pristine. That was to be expected. What wasn’t to be expected was the Ouija board in the middle of the room.

He closed the door behind him and walked to examine it closer. Beneath it was a sheet of lined paper that had a short message in Yukiko’s handwriting.

_If you are the killer I will haunt you till the day you die. If you aren’t, look after those two or I will haunt you. If you see this and I survive… Well, let’s just not talk about this._

He looked at the letter blankly before putting it aside and sitting in front of the board. He began moving the planchette around aimlessly.

“How am I supposed to talk to you if you keep moving it like that?”

He froze at the voice.

“Yukiko?” he asked in disbelief. However, a smiling young boy materialized in front of him.

“Did you already forget? My name is Pharos.”

Minato exhaled slowly before removing the planchette and giving Pharos his full attention.

“You’ll let the spirits out that way,” the young boy teased.

“That’s fine.”

“Most spirits aren’t as helpful as I am.”

“Is that what you are? A spirit?”

Pharos tilted his head. “I’m not quite sure,” he said honestly. “Although I can confidently say I am more than a spirit.”

“Are you a shadow?”

Pharos laughed. “Oh, no. I’m much more important than that.”

“A god?”

Pharos tilted his head the other way.

“No, I don’t think that quite fits either.”

Minato exhaled slowly. Now for the important one.

“Do you know Igor?”

“I have heard the name before… but I can’t seem to remember.”

Minato nodded. Time for a shot in the dark. “Do you know who the killer is?”

“Of course!”

Minato’s heart skipped a beat in excitement, but it was short-lived. His body broke out in a cold sweat as Pharos began giving off a murderous aura. The room seemed to darken and tint a sickly green, as he felt as if his psyche was stretching to try to comprehend the creature in front of him. He was no longer in the room with a small mysterious child, but rather the embodiment of death itself.

“I’ve said all I can. You are on your own.”

In an instant, the feeling vanished and Pharos giggled.

“I enjoy talking with you Minato.”

He nodded back, doing his best to ignore the terror that had washed over him. “I enjoy talking to you too. You have helped me a lot.”

Pharos smiled larger than ever, and he felt their bond grow just before he vanished.

Minato sat in silence before picking up the ouija board and placing it on a desk.

It seemed Yukiko left him exactly what he needed.

* * *

Chie’s walk home was surreal. Her call with Yosuke had helped ground her, but it still felt like she was watching her life rather than living it. The world could have been in technicolor and it would have seemed appropriate.

Well, one thing seemed real. The holster hidden beneath her shirt held the pistol that Adachi had given her. She wasn’t quite sure what she would do with it when she got home. Her mom was the type to clean her room for her, so she couldn’t hide it in there. She supposed she could always find some other place to hide it in the house.

As she approached her house, she became sure she was watching a movie. Yukiko’s parents were in front of her door, both in tears as they were talking with her parents. As she fully came into view, her own parents sprinted at her. Her mind went blank and she covered her holster with her arm as she was tackled by their hugs.

“Where were you?” Her mom shouted as she broke down in tears of her own. “You didn’t show up at school and Yukiko just…”

She barely processed any of the words she was saying. Instead, she just felt relief her parents hadn’t felt the gun under her shirt. She breathed a sigh of relief. With that issue gone solved, she could tackle the movie she was watching.

“I was at the police station. I was talking to them about Yukiko,” she said, causing her parents to pull away from her. She looked past them to Yukiko’s parents. They had always seemed strong. If a hurricane had hit Inaba, she had a feeling they would have been fine. But now they were… broken.

She walked past her parents to them. They looked at her with such a mix of emotions she couldn’t begin to name them all. So, she did the only thing she could think of.

She smiled.

“I did everything I could to help the police,” she said, shocked at how steady her own voice sounded. “I don’t think I helped much, but I did everything I could. But… I don’t want to stop. Tell me how I can help.”

Yukiko’s mother covered her mouth as she broke down in tears. Her father looked at her with an avalanche of new emotions. This time she had no problem naming some of them off. Thankfulness. Hope. Pride.

"Yukiko was lucky to have met you," he said quietly. "You were her best friend. I hope you know that."

The gun felt heavier, but she smiled anyway. Her role in everything was starting to make sense to her. Sure, it was painful. But if she could push through it, she could help everyone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You guys are a great audience. I hope you enjoy!


	17. Links

“Welcome to the Velvet Room.”

Minato opened his eyes to the increasingly familiar room, Igor and his assistants across the table as they usually were. However, there was a sense of sombreness about them that hadn’t existed before.

“You were dealt an impossible hand and faced a tragic defeat,” Igor announced. “However, that alone is not an aspect of your character. Every journey has failure.”

“What happens next is what defines your character,” Elizabeth said firmly. “Your own actions and reactions are the domain of your control. How will you live your life?”

“...We’re here to help with that,” Marie said. “But there isn’t much we can do to make you grow. That has to be you.”

Minato nodded, allowing their words to sink in with the help of the room’s ambiance. Igor took over again.

“I encourage you to improve the bonds you have created, as well as seek new ones. Your path forward is yours to forge. While the destination is by necessity unknown, it is time to explore the nature of your journey.”

* * *

“I’m sorry, we don’t have an orchestra.”

Minato felt his eyes widen in shock as the round music teacher wiped his glasses. The music club had just finished their rehearsal, and students were slowly packing and leaving, joking with each other as they did so.

“How does a school not have an orchestra?” He asked in disbelief. If he was being honest, it was one of the only constants he had been able to rely on between all of his schools. If he was supposed to find bonds, music had seemed like one of the easiest avenues...

“We lack the budget,” he said simply, putting his glasses back on. “We also lack the interest. We have an old violin somewhere if you want to just practice. I’m sure I can find one or two band arrangements for an accompanying violin if you are brave enough. Alternatively, you are welcome to play another instrument. We might be able to have you swap songs with Kuririn if you play the piano.

He looked to the mentioned instrument and lazily made his way to it. He ran his fingers across the keys, pressing a couple of keys before frowning. He was more than capable of playing the piano. He had found he was a natural at any instrument that used strings. Some would even say prodigious. However…

“Piano never really interested me,” he said. “It doesn't feel right. I can’t feel what’s going on like I can on a violin.”

“Yet you can do that?” the director said in surprise. “That is rather impressive young man! You have real talent!”

Minato didn’t know how to answer that. Complimenting him on his music was like complimenting his breathing. He hadn’t earned it. He simply could. It wasn’t impressive. There was nothing to it.

“You said you have a violin somewhere here?” He asked.

“Why yes, let me find it.” Minato nodded and looked around the room. At this point, everyone had left save one girl who was busy stacking chairs. If it weren’t for her school uniform, he would have mistaken her for a middle schooler on account of her height. The way her cheeks seemed to be permanently flushed didn’t exactly help with looking mature either.

“Ahh, here we are,” the teacher said, reaching into the back of a cabinet. He opened the case and plucked each string with a wince. “Cheap thing really. Could be more in tune. It should be fine if you want to keep up on your practice though.”

“That’s fine,” Minato said simply. As he took the instrument, he plucked the strings and began tuning it.

“Perfect pitch?” The director asked in surprise.

“Yeah.”

He found a chair in the front of the room and tried his best to make himself comfortable in it as he tuned the violin. After a moment, He closed his eyes and began breathing slowly, sitting in the proper playing posture. He rested the violin beneath his chin and felt his fingers relax around the bow. Despite being a bit out of practice, it only took a moment for it to feel like a natural extension of his hand.

He was distantly aware of the director saying something but was too concentrated to make out what it was. However, the sound of the door closing told him he was alone.

He felt an almost unnatural lack of tension as he lifted the bow to the instrument. He played nothing special. Simple exercises, scales running through the modes of C. He was just looking to evaluate how rusty he was, so he needed something he could effortlessly play and escalate the difficulty of.

He began by focusing on his technique, paying special attention to his sound quality. Once he was satisfied, he began making the scales more complex. Adding notes, changing rhythms, everything seemed to be exactly as he intended.

He relaxed and let his fingers dance across the neck of the violin. He needed to know what it would sound like. He needed to hear where his headspace was. With everything that had happened… He needed to know where he stood.

As he played, he realized he was speeding up. He calmed himself and stabilized his playing, only to hear himself play a series of dissonant notes that felt…. Wrong.

He shook his head and he suddenly heard his frustration in a searching run of notes that couldn’t seem to find a destination. He calmed himself before he realized he had no idea what to play.

Panic flowed from his body into the violin into a rushed arpeggio. The structure of his warm-up was falling apart. He needed to end this. What key was he in again? That's right, C. He just needed to play himself out with a consonant chord and walk away. Forget picking music back up.

As he finished, he wanted to throw his violin out of frustration. What he played was technical, sure, but it wasn’t what he wanted to hear. It was something he refused to hear. He felt the tension through his body, a horrible reaction to his playing. It was almost like he was scared. But that wasn’t-

“Wow, you’re really good!”

He jumped so fast his chair flipped to the ground, and backed away from the source of the voice. The small girl from before looked like a deer in the headlights, she clearly hadn’t expected him to react like that.

He breathed as slowly as he could to slow his heart rate.

“Sorry, I thought I was alone,” he apologized.

“Oh, no, I’m sorry!” she rushed out, “I shouldn’t have said anything! Oh, no, I mean, I shouldn’t have scared you, I mean -”

She shook her head, clearly overwhelmed by the situation. He sighed.

“Well, I’ll accept your apology if you accept mine.”

She seemed to calm down at that. “Y-Yeah. Even.”

A silence stretched between them, and she looked down nervously. He rolled his eyes, before remembering that he was supposed to making connections with people. He noticed a trombone case at her side and motioned to it.

“You play trombone?”

Her eyes widened as if she thought the conversation had ended. However, she smiled awkwardly. “Yeah! I’m not very good though…”

“Funny. I’m bad at violin as well.”

“Wha-Wha! How could you say that!” She said aghast. “What you played was so hard I couldn’t play it if I practiced nonstop for ten years!”

“Playing stuff is the easy part,” he said flatly. “Just make yourself do the thing. Once you learn the basics it’s muscle memory anyways. Being good at it doesn’t mean anything.”

She shook her head. “No, I don’t wanna hear that from you.’

He sighed. “And why not?”

“Because someone like you put so much into your music! If you are bad I don’t have a chance! And I don’t accept that!”

He paused at that before looking her over again. She seemed oddly… formidable. Despite barely reaching his shoulder, despite sounding like a ten year old, the resolve that she said that with was something he couldn’t bring himself to take lightly.

“You don’t accept it?”

“Not at all!”

He shook his head in disbelief.

“So what am I supposed to do?”

“I don’t know, you’re the one of us that’s actually good.”

He looked at her with a raised eyebrow.

“Like I said. Technical skill is easy.”

“You say that, but it’s not true.”

“It really is.”

“Prove it.”

He glanced at the instrument case next to her.

“Take out your trombone.”

“Huh? Why-”

“You’re getting lessons.”

He felt a social link establish within him as she nodded in stunned excitement. The arcana was... Sun? He shrugged it off and twisted his chair around, resting his chin on the back of it as he lazily watched her get set up.

“What do you want me to play?” She asked as she put her instrument together.

“It doesn’t matter. Just play the C major scale or something.”

“Got it!”

She readied herself, but before she even played her first note he cut her off with a wave of his hand.

“Sit up straight. You’re brass, your air capacity depends on how much air you can get into your lungs, and if your posture is limiting your chest expansion you’re just playing with a handicap. Try again.”

She looked at him with a stunned expression before sitting up straight. It was a bit of an over-correction, but he would allow it. As soon as she made a noise he lazily cut her off again.

“Better. Now we can work on the actual notes. Did you hear that airy tone you had? That’s because you are puffing your cheeks out too much. Air should travel straight from your lungs through the mouthpiece. You let the air bounce around in your cheeks and working way too hard because of it. I’m guessing you built the habit due to poor lung capacity from your posture. Sit up straight, tighten up your cheeks a little, and try again. Just the one note for now.”

She nodded and followed his directions. As she played the note her eyes widened.

“That sounded so much better!” She said in excitement. He nodded.

“It did. How long do you have before you have to leave?”

“Umm… Maybe an hour and a half?”

“Good. I think we might be able to get to play a second note by then.”

She gave him the most genuine smile he had ever seen. "Thanks! I can tell this is already paying off!" she said. He felt a little embarrassed being praised like that. He hadn't done anything that spectacular.

He didn't mind it though.

\---

As the detective prince, Naoto Shirogami was a man who exemplified cold hard logic. He was the type of person who would follow the evidence wherever it might lead.

However, that didn’t mean the evidence made it easy.

No signs of trauma. No signs of injection. Toxicology was clean. Suicide could be tacitly ruled out. Even if one individual could figure out a way to kill themselves in such a clean way, it was highly unlikely that three individuals could execute whatever method it took without any failure. At the very least there had to be at least one assistant in such a suicide, especially considering the improbability that the actual death had occurred at the location the bodies were found. No special tools had been found, so someone had to dispose of the equipment or move the body.

Of course, the more likely cause was murder, but it wasn’t right to rule out some sort of suicide cult just yet. A suspected motive hadn’t been established yet, and no one seemed to have materially gained from the deaths. No excessive wills, no positions or opportunities had been filled by those close to them, the two school-aged victims had even been single while the two involved in Yamano had been completely ruled out with rock solid alibi.

Yukiko Amagi’s death was the one most likely to give clues. It seemed she had known it was coming. She had left behind a series of wills, written while panicked if the handwriting was anything to go by. They weren’t legally binding by any stretch of the imagination, just the type of thing a normal high schooler would do if they thought their life was in danger. There was no way she was compelled to write them.

This of course raised a series of questions. If she were so scared, why didn’t she go to the police? Why hadn’t she talked to any of her friends about it? High school girls were melodramatic and irrational, so it was possible that she just assumed no one cared. In a situation as serious as she seemed to perceive it though, it didn’t make sense for her to not reach out for some sort of security without some sort of reason.

The second obvious question was how she had learned about her impending death. Whatever she saw that tipped her off had been convincing enough to throw her into a panic. And it was clear that she had fought back.

Yukiko’s death was unlike the other two’s. She had vanished long beforehand, and her body appeared malnourished and dehydrated. It was a strong indicator that she had resisted and that at least she hadn’t been a suicide. She had likely either been kidnapped and kept in harsh confinement or retreated into hiding.

“Man, you’re pretty serious aren’t you?”

He sighed as he was pulled out of his thoughts and back to the station’s hallway. He snapped the folder he was holding closed and met eyes with Adachi, one of the local detectives. The detective had a stupid grin plastered across his face, holding coffee for both him and his partner.

“Murder is a serious topic,” he scolded. “Perhaps you could benefit from taking the situation with a little more gravitas.”

Adachi chuckled and rubbed the back of his neck. “Yeah, you, uh, might be right about that.”

“Happy to help,” he said dryly, turning his back to him before making his way out of the station.

There were leads he could follow. He could try to narrow down the exact time Yukiko learned about her death so he could better determine the cause. He could try to find a pattern in the targets, and try to predict who might be next. He could examine the bodies more closely, and hopefully, find some sort of cause of death or indication of where they had been before the death. He could cross-examine some of her close friends and family in case some of them had lied during the initial round of interviews.

As he left the station he made up his mind. A detective like himself couldn’t afford to hesitate after all.

* * *

_Do you have any acting experience?_

_-3:01 pm_

_No. Who is this?_

_-3:01 pm_

_Do you normally lie as well as you did at the hospital?_

_-3:02 pm_

_Oh, it’s you. I manage. What do you need?_

_-3:02 pm_

_Are you free? The drama club needs more members._

_-3:02 pm_

_Is this the favor you’re asking? How do you even know I go to your school?_

_-3:02 pm_

_There is only one school for miles, and we have the smallest hospital around. No one would get transferred here, so you have to be from around. Considering I haven’t seen you before, It’s also pretty obvious you are a transfer. Also, you haven’t exactly kept a low profile in the rumor mill, coming to school with Yukiko your first day before disappearing for weeks. It was honestly pretty easy to piece things together._

_-3:05 pm_

_You never answered. Is this your favor?_

_-3:07 pm_

_No, this is blackmail._

_-3:07 pm_

_And what are you blackmailing me with?_

_-3:07 pm_

_Next time someone asks me about your time at the hospital, I’ll tell the truth._

_-3:07 pm_

_When is the meeting?_

_-3:08 pm_

_Now._

_-3:08 pm_

Yumi snapped her phone closed and giggled to herself. Nagai paused pushing tables to the side of the classroom to clear a space to practice and looked at her with raised eyebrows.

“I know that look,” He said warily. “Should I be concerned?”

She brushed her hair behind her ear as dramatically as she could. Did he think it was his job to police her now that he was club president? “Not at all. Just doing my part to grow the club. I think I got us a boy.”

His girlfriend perked up at that. She supposed she should start treating her like the club vice president but… Well, if she ever proved she got the position through anything but nepotism she would. She wasn’t going to hold her breath.

“That so?” She asked in her fake innocent voice. ”Who’re you bringing in?”

“Oh, the transfer student.”

She heard a couple of the other club members gasp, and she understood why. A boy joining drama itself was rare, to say the least. The only male they had was the president. The idea she could recruit the quiet and mysterious transfer student who was the talk of the school was understandably hard to believe.

“Wonder how long he’ll last.”

“He’ll do fine,” She said confidently. “I’m sure he’ll last the year at least.”

The room seemed to freeze as the door to the room opened.

Yumi smirked as Minato walked into the room. Oh, today was going to be fun.

“This is drama club?” Minato asked, and she nodded. A couple of the other girls in the club whispered to each other in excitement, and she understood. She wasn’t going to lose her momentum though.

“Joining?” Yumi asked in a sing-song voice. Giggles ran through the room as he nodded, and she hid her smugness as a welcoming smile.

“Good timing,” she said pleasantly. “We should have just enough time to train you up before we decide on what our annual show is. Guys are always useful, and the more we have the easier it is to build a show. I trust you’ll be up to the task?”

He shrugged and took in the rest of the room. She glanced around herself. Just how much would he pick up on by the end of the first meeting? How would he respond to the circumstances? Would he quit out of frustration? Was he willing to put his nose to the grindstone and work to make the club better? Would he look for allies to blackmail her back?

She laughed and looked to the president. “If we have a new member, perhaps it would be best to practice with something to help everyone get comfortable?”

He nodded. “Right, we probably should. How much experience do you have... Uhh.. sorry, I don’t think we’ve asked your name yet...”

“Minato. I have no acting experience.”

“Right, so let's just work on the basics. Alright then… Speaking exercises?”

She shook her head. That was no good, he was a natural mumbler. It would hardly be showing him off if they started with that. No, a better option would be…

“How about some improv?”

A couple of the other members giggled, while she simply smirked. It was a good way for him to show his strong side right away.

“He’s going to be my partner then?” She asked, sending the president a challenging glare.

“Really?” He sighed.

“You trust anyone else to train him? Or are you going to?”

“Fine,” he gave in, clearly not looking for a fight. “Just don’t scare him off.” She nodded and grabbed his arm, pulling him to the center of the room. Minato followed, although it was obvious he was starting to regret coming.

“Already digging her claws in him,” one of the girls muttered, which she ignored. Maybe her words would matter if their opinion was worth anything.

“What are we doing?” Minato asked.

“Just lie. No matter what the other does, we build off it. You are allowed to say anything you want. Be as off the wall as you want. Should be simple, right?”

“Yumi,” the president warned, “I don’t think it’s smart to just throw him in the spotlight. Maybe some of us can go first and show him what we’re looking for.”

“He’ll be fine.” She turned to the other club members. “Well, what’s our prompt? Anyone from the audience?”

A couple of girls giggled at each other and huddled up.

“You’re breaking up with him!” One of them called out.

She raised an eyebrow and turned to him. “You get it? We just have to act like I'm breaking up with you. Ready?”

He shrugged. “Sure.”

She closed her eyes and got into character. When she opened her eyes, she barely even saw Minato. She saw a boyfriend she was furious at.

She let her anger be known through her movements as she stomped up to him and wound up a slap. There were a couple of gasps from the audience as they saw it coming, but to everyone’s surprise, Minato simply stepped in closer and grabbed her wrist to stop it.

She locked eyes with him and met an unwavering glare.

“You can’t even let me have this?” She spat at him. “You cheat on me with that exchange student and I can’t even have this one moment?”

“If you deserved this moment I wouldn’t have cheated on you.”

 _Perfect._ She twisted her face into a snarl. “Really? That’s how this is going to be?”

“That’s exactly how this is going to go. You always act like this only flows in one direction. Not today.”

“One direction?” She said in disbelief. “You practically build an entire harem and think anything I do can compare?”

He let go of her wrist, but his icy glare demanded she stay put. She had to stop herself from giggling. He was so much better at this than she expected!

“Do I need to bring up your… episodes?”

“Don’t compare my depression to this!” She snapped. “You cheated on me with five girls! That I know of!”

“Seven actually,” Minato said, stepping forward menacingly. She found herself backing up, making sure to do so slow enough for him to still close the gap dramatically. “One for each time you got blackout drunk and hooked up with a stranger. And that’s just the ones I know about. The only difference is I know how to follow through. I don’t half ass everything in my life.”

She twisted her natural laughter into a cackle that her new character might do.

“Seven? Try putting a zero after that! And how could I not when an absolute failure of a man like yourself is my supposed boyfriend?”

“I always noticed you were more experienced than your sister!”

She backed up, aghast. “You slept with Yuko?”

“Chihiro actually.”

“You- You monster! She’s thirteen!”

He brushed imaginary dirt off his shoulder. ‘Not bad for an eight year old like myself, eh?”

She paused as all the implications of their setup came crashing down. Her character completely fell apart as she began laughing. Well, she had encouraged him to be ridiculous.

“Scene! The president declared, which she couldn’t stop laughing long enough to object to.

“He made Yumi break character!” one of the club members said in disbelief.

“He just went from a seven to a straight ten!”

“Think he’s single?”

“Hey, maybe we can all be in his harem together!”

Minato shrugged off the words and walked up to her as if none of the other girls existed. If it weren’t for her training she’d have blushed as he held out a hand for a shake. Instead, she pulled out her phone, slapping it in his hand.

“Not falling for that one again,” She said, turning away with all the flair she could manage.

“Damn, she thirsty!” One of the girls shouted through cupped hands. She just rolled her eyes, smiling as Minato followed her to sit on one of the tables pushed to the side. The president immediately went to work arranging the next group, hushing as much of the muttering as he could.

“You were good out there,” She said. “There is a lot that you can improve on, but you’ve got natural talent. Especially when it comes to improv. We’ll have to work on getting you to smile though.”

The atmosphere between them changed so fast she had whiplash. It was almost as if she had slapped him. She shifted uncomfortably.

“Did I say something wrong?” She asked.

He shook his head. “I’ll think about it.”

“Really? You have to think about smiling? In that case, you need to get farther into acting.”

“But I don’t want to just act like I’m smiling.”

She frowned. Inviting him to the club was supposed to be fun. Why was he being so dense?

“It’s fake it till you make it Minato. That’s how it works. You slap a plastic smile on and one day you’ll do it for real.”

He looked her over one more time before nodding.

“I’ll keep coming to the club.” He said. “Let's learn to smile together.”

She crossed her arms. “What's that supposed to mean. I smile plenty.”

He nodded. "Of course. My mistake."

* * *

Minato was being watched.

As he made his way home from school, it had become increasingly apparent that someone was tailing him. It was more of an instinctual awareness than being fully alerted, but one he couldn’t shake.

He kept his hands in his pocket, but muted his music so he could strain his ears for sound. His footsteps seemed to echo on the forested path. Chirping insects provided a layer of white noise he tried to listen through, so he fell back on his sight. He pulled out his phone, using its blank screen as a mirror to look behind him.

He caught a glimpse of movement and froze. Whatever it was tailing him had messed up. What would they do next? He turned to face the bushes where he had seen them move.

Time stood still as the deadlock continued. After what seemed like forever, he shook his head and walked towards the movement. Knowing it was there meant nothing if he did nothing about it.

He felt his foot land in a puddle of blood.

He froze. The insects had disappeared, apparently silenced by the oppressive force that had enveloped the world. Reality had taken on a sickly hue, with blood covering the ground in patches that seemed random at best and the sky turning to a sea of green.

The movement happened again, taking off deeper into the woods before he could catch a glimpse. He had to forcibly stop himself from giving chase. Whatever it was, it seemed to not want to be found, and cornering it seemed reckless before he knew what he was dealing with.

All at once, the world had returned to normal.

He didn’t listen to his music the rest of the way home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry that this chapter took so long, but real life does have to come first. I also had a hard time picking the story back up after what seemed like a solid conclusion before.
> 
> HOWEVER, we are back, and I wasn't using that time for nothing! If you didn't pick it up, I was a fine arts kid back in the day, so I do have the ability to write out my interpretation of what the characters play! Here is Minato's 'warmup' : https://www.noteflight.com/scores/view/ecc15f0af26d7f1e521754ff9f597ea166690692 I was actually a drummer, so my composition was never that great on top of being rusty, and its free music software so it doesn't sound exactly how I want it, but I do hope some of you find it interesting if nothing else! I already have some more music written for the sun social link from the hiatus, so hopefully I can have each major piece done by the time its reached in the story.
> 
> Also, thank you again for your patience and support! I promise the next chapter will be a lot more plot intensive, but social links are important as well. Hopefully you enjoy them!

**Author's Note:**

> Strikers is out and it's great! If you can afford to, support Atlus and play it!


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